PREPARATORY IN WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER
STEP # 1 What will be the research topic?
Sources: experience- happenings in school, things/issues that concern you (school subjects, teachers,
classmates, friends, reading, writing and grammar lesson)
Samples of topics:
Favorite or preferred subjects
study difficulties/problems
Preferred courses
fast food chains
Study habits
malling patterns/habits
Eating habits
newspaper reading
Preferred music
causes of tardiness or absences
Preferred TV talk shows
using social media
Food preferences
use of gadgets
Preferred sports or recreational activities
early relationship
NOTE: As you choose a topic, be aware of : your background knowledge of the topic; your interest; availability
of materials.
STEP # 2 Who will be the respondents?
Respondents are the group of people who will respond to or answer your questionnaire.
- people who are accessible to you
- about 50 respondents
- be specific, if the respondents are students, indicate grade level and section
- if the respondents are teachers, indicate the department they belong to or the subject they
are teaching
Example:
Grade 9-Sparrow from Junior High School Department
STEP # 3 Where will be the research venue?
This will tell where the respondents will come from.
Example:
Junior High School Department, San Jose del Monte National High School, Francisco Homes,
City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan
STEP # 4 When will the research take place?
Indicate the time the research will start and end.
Example:
2nd semester, 2016-2017
STEP # 5 How is the thesis title formulated?
With the help of 4 Ws, formulate the thesis title.
Example:
What is the topic?
Study habits
Who/Whose study habits?
Grade 9- Sparrow
Where will the research take place?
Junior High School Department, SJDMNHS
When will the research start and end? 2nd semester, 2016-2017
TITLE: Study habits of the Grade 9 –Sparrow of the Junior High School Department, San Jose del Monte
National High School during the 2nd semester 2016-2017
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STEP # 6 How will the possible research questions or subproblems be drawn?
Pick out the key words in the title and analyze it/them. If you are not familiar with it/them, read about it/them.
Example:
A. Study Habits
What is a habit? A customary practice? Do these habits involve usual or regular place? time? manner or
ways/strategies?
(your research questions will be based on these)
Subproblems:
1. When do the Grade 9-Sparrow students usually study?
2. Where do they usually study?
3. How do they usually study?
B. Sports
Break into categories.
According to the number of persons involved-team sports,individual/dual sports, according to kinds of
games
````
Subproblems:
1. Which of the team sports do the grade 11 students prefer?
1.1basketball
1.2 volleyball
1.3 baseball
2. Which individual/dual sports do these respondents prefer?
2.1 chess
2.2 swimming
2.3 table tennis
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WRITING CHAPTER 1 OF THE PAPER
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction
Relevant ideas to be discussed in the paragraphs of this part:
1. Introduce the topic- define it by using other methods of paragraph development like classification, description, giving
examples, process, comparison and contrast or a combination of all to make clear what your topic is all about.
Example:
Leisure activities are things done voluntarily by the individual during his non work time (Kraus
89), described as diversions or changes in activities. These activities may be physical, mental, social or
spiritual in nature. They may be play activities for the youth and diversions for the adult.
2. Stress the importance of the topic-Cite the role the topic plays in one’s life and the benefits derived from it
Example:
In the performance of duties, one sometimes wonders how easily things come into place. Yet at other
times, he is surprised why he fails to perform well, no matter how he strives to do his best. This is, perhaps,
because he needs to go out of his “box” once in a while to vary his daily routine. Refreshing breaks after a
workday help one unwind. As the saying goes, “All work no play makes Jack a dull boy”.
Hence, some people, drifting in and out of sleep, would love to do nothing more than devour books
during their wakeful hours. Reading, according to Kris Aquino, TV host and former columnist, is “food for the
brain.”
3. Cite legal basis or highlight with historical background-such as laws, decrees and constitutional provisions related to
the topic.
Example:
The presidential decree on “Sports for All” reveals the importance of sports in our life.
4. Discuss and emphasize the reason and motivation for choosing the topic- a problem or unsatisfactory condition that
you experienced or observed and you feel the need to improve or strong curiosity or to prove an expert’s theory.
Example:
In our present violence-crazy society, so much has been said and written about juvenile misbehavior.
Social psychologists and guidance counselors point out to the lack of worthwhile leisure activities as one of the
causes of this worsening problem. It is for this reason that the researchers are interested in taking a serious look
into the types of leisure activities indulged in by today’s youth.
5. Explain the purpose of the study- be guided by your goal or objective. What do you want to find out or investigate?
Example:
Whatever form of leisure activities taken, wherever and however they are spent, the purpose of this
research is to know the kinds of leisure activities student leaders engaged in and their perception of the gains
they derived from these activities.
Statement of the Problem
State the purpose of the research and then enumerate the research questions or subproblems that the study
intends to answer.
Example:
This study was undertaken to find out the kinds of leisure activities student leaders of the College of
Languages, University of Sto. Tomas S. Y. 2016-2017 engaged in and the benefits that they perceived they
derived from these activities.
Specifically, this study sought answers to the following research questions:
1. What leisure activities do the respondents participate in that involve?
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1.1 mental activities?
1.2 physical activities?
1.3 social activities?
1.4 spiritual activities?
2. What perceived benefits do they derive from these activities+
2.1 intellectual improvement?
2.2 physical health?
2.3 social skills?
2.4 spiritual enlightenment?
Scope and Limitations
-points out what is included or covered by the investigation and what is not.
-This table below will guide you.
Scope(covered or included)
Limitations( not covered/not included)
1. What? Sports Preference
1. Other physical activities like recreational activities,
dance, etc.
2. Who? Only Grade 9- Sparrow
2. Other sections of Grade 9
3. Where? Junior High School Department, San Jose del 3. Senior High School/other school
Monte National High School
4. When? School year 2016-2017
4. School years before and after 2016-2017
-Some phrases you may use to express:
• The study focused only on…
• The study involved only…
• The coverage of the study was…
• The study was limited to…
• There was no attempt to…
• The investigation was not concerned with…
Example:
This study looked into the sports preference of the students from Grade 9- Sparrow of the Junior High
School department of San Jose del Monte National High School during the school year 2016-2017.
No attempt was made to compare these with any other factor such as mental ability, personality traits
and socio economic status.
Definition of Terms
-It must not be treated as mini glossary.
-Only terms used in title and variables pertaining to the topic and other words that have special meaning should
be included.
-gives the operational definition (i.e. how the word is used in the study and the researchers’ own definition)
Example:
Leisure Activities-These are the activities done during no work time or leisure time.
-
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WRITING CHAPTER 2 OF THE PAPER
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
-It serves as the foundation of the proposed study because it clarifies vague points about the problems.
-It is composed of related facts and principle that come from:
books, encyclopedias, almanac, magazines, newspapers, journals, manuscripts, records from schools and
offices, official reports of all kinds such in education, government or businesses and the internet.
-The materials must be as recent as possible, objective and unbiased.
- It should not be too few or too many. (at least 10 sources/related materials for undergraduates)
Ways of Citing Related Literature
1. Arrangement- must be cited chronologically according to the way they were written. Materials which were written first
must be cited first.
2. What to Cite- only the major findings, ideas, generalizations, principles or conclusions relevant to topic. Generally, these
are summarized, paraphrased or synthesized.
Example:
• Summarizing-The best strategy is to summarise where possible, adding your own comments if
appropriate.
Krashen (1981, 1985) claimed that formally-taught (“learned”) rules could not become usable in fluent
conversation (“acquired”), a view which many language teachers would disagree with.
Ellis (1991) does not reject Krashen's model outright, but claims that “learned” rules help the learner notice
features in the input that he or she would otherwise miss.
In the example above, the phrase “a view which many language teachers would disagree with” is a comment
added by the person summarising Krashen’s claims. Another example, phrases such as “As Brown points out,
…”, “I concur with Brown’s view that…” are comments indicating agreement with the author cited.
•
Paraphrasing-If you have to refer in detail to a source, the next best strategy is to put the author's text
into your own words so that it fits in with your own writing style.
3. In-text citation: guidelines
a)
b)
Article in book or journal
According to Roberts (1995) good visual design helps sell coursebooks. It also makes the actual learning
easier by stressing the learning path that the learner should follow (Smith, 1987).
Book
If you are referring to a whole book, follow the previous guideline. Often, however, your information comes
from a certain page or pages. Then add the page numbers as follows:
As for “content-driven” learners, Robinson (1997: 66) says ...
Cunningsworth (1984: 78-79) stresses that ...
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c.)
Citing several works at once
Often you will need to refer to several sources at once. Put them in year order (not alphabetical order),
separating each citation with a semi-colon(;):
Several authors (e.g. Rowntree and Connors, 1978; Dougill, 1987; Breen, 1988) have stressed the
importance of good physical design in coursebooks.
d.)
Works by more than one author
For a work by two authors, separate the surnames with and. For more than two, add et al. after the first
surname:
Some (e.g. Smith and Jones, 1995) claim that ... despite the evidence of Naiman et al. (1978) ...
e.)
More than one work (or citation), same author, same year
If you are referring to several works by one author in the same year, call the first work which you refer to a, the
second work b, etc.:
Charlton (2001a) found that career choices were still determined to a considerable
extent by traditional gender roles. However, for both genders career choices were more diverse
than in the 1980s (Charlton, 2001b).
If you are referring repeatedly to the same source, only repeat the year if it hasn't been mentioned in the same
or the previous paragraph, or if you're discussing different works by the same author.
In a ground-breaking study of the good language learner, Naiman et al. (1978) claim ...
Naiman et al. also found that ...
f.)
Different authors with the same surname
Use initials to distinguish them:
Several authors (e.g. L. Jones, 1983; C. Jones, 1986; G. Jones, 1986; F. Jones, 1993) have written
about CALL simulations.
g.)
Author and/or year unknown
In Teach Yourself Tibetan (author unknown, 1953), Tibetan grammar is presented...
Skehan (year unknown) reported that language aptitude consists of two elements…
In ‘Notes on the Teaching of Quechua’ (author and year unknown), it is claimed that ...
h.)
Software, broadcasts, web sites
If you know the author(s) and the year of issue of a software program, web sites, etc., give the title plus an author-year
citation. If there isn't an obvious author or a year, just give the title. Here are some examples:
Storyboard (Jones, 1983) is a highy popular CALL program.
Sueños has replaced España Viva as the BBC's main audio/video Spanish course.
On Scott Windeatt's home page (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/windeatt/), you can find...
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WRITING CHAPTER 3 OF THE PAPER
METHODS OF RESEARCH AND PROCEDURES (template)
Research Design
To realize the objective of this study, the researcher used the descriptive survey method. This method
is designed to gather information about __________________________________. In this study, the present
existing conditions referred to the __________________________________ of the respondents.
Respondents
The respondents consisted of _______________________ from the Grade ______Section_______ of
San Jose del Monte National High School, Junior High School Department. The target population is consisted of
______male and _____female students.
Research Instruments
The research instrument is a survey questionnaire devised by the researchers. The questionnaire is
_________ type. It is composed of ___________ item, mostly about________________ to__________.
Data Gathering Procedure
First, the researchers ___________________ to ask permission from _________. Then,
they_______________________ . Each respondent is asked to answer the questionnaire. After the
questionnaires are accomplished,_____________.
Statistical Treatment
After retrieving the accomplished questionnaires, the researchers recorded the answers of the
individual respondents by using tally sheet. The percentage is then computed by the formula:
P= f/n x 100
where:
P- stands for Percentage
f- stands for frequency of answers
n- stands for total number of respondents
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WRITING CHAPTER 4 OF THE PAPER
ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Step # 1 Begin the chapter with a paragraph that mention the purpose of the study and the content of the
chapter.
Example:
The purpose of the study is ____________________. This chapter contains ___________.
Step # 2 Compute the data using the formula.
Example:
TALLY SHEET
What social activities do the respondents engage in at leisure time?
a. going out/malling – IIII-IIII- 10
b. bonding with family – IIII- IIII- IIII- 15
c. texting/phoning- IIII- IIII- IIII-IIII--III- 23
d. joining group activities- II-2
COMPUTATION
P=f/n x 100
a. 10/ 50 x 100= 20 %
b. 15/50 x 100= 30%
c. 23/50 x 100= 46 %
d. 2/50 x 100 = 4%
Step # 3 Transfer the computation into a table or a graph.
Table 1
Social Activities the respondents engage with during leisure time
Activities
Frequency
Percentage
a. going out/malling
10
20
b. bonding with family
15
30
c. texting/phoning
23
46
d. joining group activities
2
4
Rank
3
2
1
4
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Graph 1
Social Activities the respondents engage with during leisure time
Percentage
50
40
30
20
Percentage
10
0
a. going out/malling
b. bonding with
family
c. texting/phoning
d. joining group
activities
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Step # 4 Have a textual presentation after each table or graph.
Example:
Table 1 shows the leisure activities the respondents usually engage with during leisure
time. Of this number, the respondents enjoy texting/phoning among the leisure activities shown.
This means that the respondents are hooked into using their cellphones rather than
socializing with others. The communication skills of the respondents will suffer sooner or later. There is
a need for the to encourage the respondents to do more socialization rather than using their phones.
WRITING CHAPTER 5 OF THE PAPER
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of Findings
• The subproblems are written before the stated findings.
• These are sequenced exactly as they appeared in the statement of the problem. Past tense of
the verb is used in this part.
Example:
Based on the analysis and interpretation of data gathered, the findings are:
1. What social activities do the respondents engage in at leisure time?
a. 20% indulged in going out/malling
b. 30% were into bonding with family
c. 46% always texting/phoning
d. 4 % were joining group activities
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Conclusions
•
•
Conclusions are inferences, implications and/or generalizations.
These should not contain numerals because these generally limit the forceful effect or impact
and scope of a generalization.
Example:
Based on the findings, the researchers arrived at these conclusions:
1. Leisure activities engaged in by the respondents
Majority of the respondents indulge more on texting or using phones. They engaged in
this activity rather than socializing or bonding with their families.
Recommendations
• These are appeal to people or entities concerned to solve the problem.
• Recommendations must be feasible, practical and attainable.
• There should be a recommendation for further research on the same topic in other places to amplify,
verify or negate the findings of the study.
Example:
Based on the conclusions, the researchers endorse some ways to make the respondents’ leisure
activities more fruitful, enjoyable, and enriching.
1. Respondents should vary their leisure activities in order to achieve a balanced lifestyle.
2. The respondents should prune TV and sports time and devote it to worthwhile leisure
activities.
3. Interacting with family is a prime need. The respondents must be aware of it.
Reference:
Fundamentals of Research and Business Correspondence by Lourdes A. Dagdag et al.
Methods of Research and Thesis Writing by Jose F. Calderon , et al.
PRELIMINARY PAGES AND OTHER ESSENTIAL PARTS
1. Title Page-contains the complete title of the study and the researchers. It follows a certain format. (See
attached sample)
2. Acknowledgement Sheet- it offers an opportunity to express gratitude to persons who have been helpful
and to acknowledge authors and publishers of materials used.
3. Table of Contents- lists the chapter titles and every heading whether major or minor, stated in exact words
which appear in the body of the research. It is ordinarily typed with double spacing between all entries. Page
numbers of all titles and headings are always given at the right side of the page.
4. References- all the references are in a consolidated list. Here the references are arranged alphabetically by
author and by kind ( books, pamphlet, journal, web site)
5. Appendices-each appendix begins on a new page and is headed with its letter (Appendix A, Appendix B,
Appendix C, etc. ) .It contains the evidences/documents used in the research- letter asking permission to
administer questionnaire, sample questionnaire, tally sheet, computation.
6. Curriculum Vitae- one- page biographical sketch of the author/researchers.(personal profile, educational
attainment, merit/award received, organization membership)
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❖ FORMATTING
FONT: Arial
FONT SIZE: 12
MARGIN: 1.5 all sides
SPACING : 1.5
PAPER SIZE: Letter/Short Bond paper
PAGINATION: Bottom, Center, Arabic number
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