Nicanor Reyes St.

, Sampaloc, Manila
Accountancy, Business, and Management

Practical Research 1

Lesson 5:
IDENTIFYING THE INQUIRY AND STATING THE PROBLEM

Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
1. Distinguish a good research topic from what is not
2. Narrow down a general topic into a smaller one
3. Formulate a research question and research problem of their research

You begin your research work with a problem; that is, having a problem or topic to work on. A topic
is researchable if the knowledge and information about it are supported by evidence that is observable,
factual, and logical.

I. Guidelines in Choosing a Research Topic:

1. Interest in the subject matter
- The background of the researcher in the topic and its novelty is a big factor to consider. Being
interested in the topic makes you more devoted to unravel the mystery behind it.
2. Availability of Information
- Collecting a lot of information as evidence to support your claims about your subject matter
from varied forms of literature is a part and parcel of any research work.
- Included in your investigation of the availability of reading materials are questions on how
updated and authoritative the materials are.
3. Timeliness and relevance of Topic
- The topic is relevant if it yields results that are instrumental in societal improvement
- It is timely if it is related to the present
4. Limitations of the Subject
-makes you link your choosing with course requirements
5. Personal resources
- Before sticking fully to your final choice, assess your research abilities in terms of your
financial standing, health condition, mental capacity, needed facilities, and time allotment to
enable you to complete your research

Research topics to be avoided

1. Controversial topics
- topics that depend greatly on the writer’s opinion, which may tend to be biased or prejudicial.
2. Hard-to-investigate subjects
- A subject is hard to investigate if there are no available reading materials about it and if such
materials are not up-to-date.
3. Too broad subjects
- Topics that are too broad will prevent you from giving a concentrated or an in-depth analysis
of the subject matter of the paper
 4. Too narrow subjects
- These subjects are so limited or specific that an extensive or thorough searching or reading
for information about these is necessary
5. Vague subjects
- Choosing topics like these will prevent you from having a clear focus on your paper.

II. Research Problem and Research Question

Research problem- you consider research as the remedy for getting over any problem
- when you decide to research, you begin with a problem that will lead you to specific topic to
focus on
- drives you to think of one topic you can investigate or focus on for the solution to your
community’s problem
- enables you to generate a set of research questions
- Serves as an impetus behind your desire to carry out a research study
Research questions- composed of a general question followed by a lot of specific questions the
researcher would like to find answers for.
- General question- an overreaching question that the research topic is centered on
- Specific questions- also known as sub-problems; identify or direct the researcher to the exact
aspect of the problem that your study has to focus on

Example:

Research problem: the need to have a more educationally conducive, mental health friendly environment
in FEU High School

Research Topic: Personality Enhancement Training for FEU SHS Teachers

General Questions: What are the

Guidelines for Formulating Research Questions

1. Establish a clear relation between the research questions and the problem or topic
2. Base your research questions on your RRL because existing published works help you get good
background knowledge of the research problem and help you gauge the people’s current
understanding or unfamiliarity about the topic, as well as the extent of their knowledge and
interest in it.’
3. Formulate research questions that can arouse your curiosity and surprise you with your
discoveries or findings.
4. State your research questions in such a way that they include all dependent and independent
variables referred to by the theories, principles, or concepts underlying your research work
5. Let the set of research questions or sub-problems be preceded by one question expressing the
main problem of the research
6. Avoid asking research questions that are answerable with “yes” or “no” and use the “how”
questions only in a quantitative research
7. Be guided by the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Bound) in
formulating the research questions.