THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

GROUP 1
Adame, Joshua
Cacanindin, John Michael
Dermil, Joshua Simon
Edang, Emman Ray
Remo, Karl Mikell
 ELEMENTS OF A
RESEARCH PROBLEM
The term research problem implies that
an investigation, inquiry or study is to be
conducted, or that the problem is ready for
investigation, inquiry or study. There are
certain elements that a problem must possess
before it becomes a research problem ready for
investigation.
 These elements are:
• Aim or purpose of the problem or investigation.
• The subject matter or topic to be investigated.
• The place or locale where the research is to be
conducted.
• The period of time of the study during which
the data are to be gathered.
• Population universe from whom the data are to
be collected.
 Summarizing the elements of the
research problems aim or purpose,
subject matter or topic, place or locale,
period of time, and population of the
universe they respectively answer
questions starting with why, what, where,
when and who or from whom.
Example:
To determine the status of teaching science in
the high schools A during the school year 1989-
1990.
• Aim or purpose: to determine the status of
• Subject matter or topic: the teaching of science
• Place or locale: in the high schools of province A
• Period or time: during the school year 1989-1990
• Population: the respondents are implied to be
either the teachers or the pupils or both
Guidelines in the selection of a
research problem or topic
• The research problem or topic must be chosen by
the researcher himself.
• It must be within the interest of the researcher.
• It must be within the specialization of the
researcher.
• It must be within the competence of the researcher
to tackle.
• It must be within the ability of the researcher to
finance, otherwise he must be able to find funding
for his research.
It is researchable and manageable, that is,
a) Data are available and accessible
b) The data must meet the standards of accuracy,
objectivity, and verifiability
c) Answers to the specific questions (sub problems)
can be found. The data to be collected must supply
the necessary answers to the specific questions.
d) The hypothesis formulated are testable, that is,
they can be accepted or rejected. Hypotheses are
not proved, they are only determined as true or
not.
e) Equipment and instruments for research are
available and can give valid and reliable results.
• It can be completed within a reasonable period of
time unless it is a longitudinal research which takes
a long time for its completion.
• It is significant, important, and relevant to the
present time and situation, timely, and out of
current interest.
• The results are implementable.
• It requires original, critical and reflective thinking to
solve it.
• It can be delimited to suit the resources of the
researchers but big or large enough to be able to
give significant, valid, and reliable results and
generalizations.
• It must contribute to the national development
goals for the improvement of the quality of
human life.
• It must contribute to the fund of human
knowledge.
• It must show or pave the way for the solution of
the problem or problems intended to be solved.
• It must not undermine the moral and spiritual
values of the people.
• It must not advocate any change in the present
order of things by means of violence but by
peaceful means.
• There must be a return of some kind to the
researcher, either one, or all of the following, if the
research report is completed:
a) Monetary, either increase in salary or
publication of the results in which there is some
kind of royalty.
b) Advancement of position, promotion.
c) Improved specialization, competence, and skill
in professional work easily if the research
subject is related to the profession
d) Enhanced prestige and reputation.
e) Satisfaction of intellectual curiosity and interest,
and being able to discover the truth.
• There must be consideration of hazards
involved, either physical, social, or legal. This
author knows of a man who went to the
mountains to study a tribe, ignoring physical
dangers from wild animals and from the
tribesmen themselves. While this act is
admirable, the researcher must consider this
a personal safety.
• Another hazard is social. This occurs when an
inquiry happens to encroach upon socially
approved and established social values,
norms of conduct, or ethical standards.

• Another hazard is legal. If an investigation

may affect adversely the honor and integrity
of certain people, a libel suit may ensue.
 THE TITLE
Guidelines in writing the title. The thesis adviser should
be guided by the following in the formulation of this title.
These are also the characteristics of the title.
• Generally, the title is formulated before the start of the
research work. It may revised and refined later if there
is a need.
• The title must contain the subject matter if the study,
the locale of the study, the population involved, and the
period when the data were gathered or will be
gathered.
• It must be broad enough to include all the aspects of the
subject matter studied or to be studied.
• It must be as brief and concise as possible.
• Avoid using the terms “An analysis of”, “A
study of”, “An investigation of” and the like.
All these things are understood to have been
done or to be done when a research is
conducted.
• If the title contains more than one line, it
must be written like an inverted pyramid. All
words in capital letters.
• Example of a complete title:

THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE IN THE HIGH

SCHOOLS OF PROVINCE A AS PERCEIVED
BY THE SCIENCE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR 1989-1990
The contents are required by Guideline No.2 are:

• Subject matter: The teaching of science;

• Locale of the study: High schools of province A
• Population involved: The science teachers and
students; and
• Period of the study: School year 1989-1990
 A brief and concise form of the title and a
better one follows:

THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE IN THE

HIGH SHOOLS OF PROVINCE A
 It will be noted that the population, the
science teachers and students as well as the
period of the study, 1989-1990, are omitted
when writing the second form but they have to
be mentioned in the scope and delimitations of
the study. It will be noted also that the title,
though brief and simplified, is broad enough to
include all the possible aspects of the subject
matter.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Guidelines in formulating the general problem and
the specific subproblems or specific problems:
• The general statement of the problem and the
specific subproblems or questions should be
formulated first before conducting the research.
• It is customary to state specific subproblems In
the interrogative form. Hence, subproblems are
called specific questions.
• Each specific question must be clear and
unequivocal, that is, it has only one meaning. It
must not have dual meanings.
• Each specific question is researchable apart
from the other questions, that is , answers to
each question can be found even without
considering the other questions.

• Each specific question must be based upon

known facts an phenomena.

• Answers to each specific question can be

interpreted apart from the answers to other
specific questions.
• Answers to each specific questions must
contribute to the development of the whole
research problem or topic.

• Summing up the answers to all the specific

questions will give a complete development
of the entire study.

• The number of specific questions should be

enough to cover the development of the
whole research problem or study.
 Before writing down the specific
questions, determine the different
aspects of the research problem to be
studied and then for each aspect make
one specific question with subquestions
if there is a need.
If the research topic is the teaching
of science the different aspects may be
the following:
• Qualifications of the teachers, especially
educational;
• Methods and strategies of teaching used
and their level of effectiveness;
• Facilities available, instructional and
non- instructional and their adequacy;
• Adequacy of supervisory assistance
extended to teachers;
• Comparison between perceptions of the
teachers and those of the students
concerning the different aspects;
• Problems encountered by the teachers in
teaching science;
• Proposals to solve or help solve the
problems; and
• Implications of the study to the teaching
science.
• Generally, there should be a general statement
of the problem and this should be broken up
into a many as subproblems or specific
questions as necessary.

• Example: this study was conducted to

investigate all aspects of the teaching of science
in the high schools of province A during the
school year 1989-1990 as perceived by the
science teachers and students.
 Specifically, the study attempted to
answer the following questions:
• How qualified are the teachers handling science
in the high schools if province A?
• How effective are the methods and strategies
used by the teachers in teaching science?
• How adequate are the instructional as well as
the non-instructional facilities for the teaching
of science?
• How adequate are the forms of supervisory
assistance extended to the teachers relative to
the teaching of science?
• Is there any significant difference between the
perceptions of the teachers and those of the
students concerning the different aspects in the
teaching of science?
• What problems are being encountered by the
teachers of science?
• What suggestions are offered by the teachers
and students to improve the teaching of
science?
• What are the implications of the findings to the
teaching of science?
 Assumptions
• An assumption is a self-evident truth which is
based upon a known fact or phenomenon.

Examples:
• Specific question: how qualified are the
teachers handling science?
• Implicit (unwritten) assumptions: there are
certain qualifications that one should possess
before he can teach science.
• Specific question: how adequate are the
facilities that a school should acquire before
it can offer science as a subject?
• Implicit assumption: there are certain
required facilities that a school should
acquire before it can offer science as a
subject.
• Specific question: how effective are the
methods used in the teaching of science?
• Implicit assumption: there area certain
methods that are effective in the teaching of
science.
 Guidelines In the use of
basic assumptions
• You cannot assume the value of the
study. Such an argument should have
been made under the section,
significance of the study.
• You cannot assume the reliability of the
instruments you propose to use in your
research.
• You cannot assume the validity of basic
data. Validity is established under
methodology.
• You cannot assume that your
population is typical. This point is to be
made under methodology.
• An assumption is not tested, neither is it
defended nor argued.
 Hypothesis
• A hypothesis is a tentative conclusion or
answer to a specific question raised at the
beginning of the investigation. It is an
educated guess about the answer to a
specific question.
• Forms of hypotheses. There are two forms of
hypothesis. One is in the operational form
and the other is the null form. The
operational form is stated in the affirmative
while the null form is stated in the negative.
 Guidelines in the
formulation of explicit
hypotheses

The following are the guidelines in the

formulation of explicit hypotheses:
• In experimental investigations, hypotheses
have to be explicit, they have to be
expressed. They have to be expressed also in
comparative and correlational studies.
• In descriptive and historical investigations,
hypotheses are seldom expressed if not
entirely absent. The subproblems or specific
questions raised before the start if the
investigation and stated under the statement
of the problem serve as the hypotheses.
• Hypotheses are usually stated in the null
form because testing a null hypotheses is
easier than a hypothesis in t he operational
form. Testing a hypothesis simply means
gathering data to answer it.
• Hypothesis are formulated from the specific
questions upon which they are based.
Examples:
• Question: is there any significant difference
between the perceptions of the teacher and
those of the students concerning the different
aspects in the teaching of science?

• Operational hypothesis: there is a significant

difference between the perceptions of the
teachers and those of the students concerning
the different aspects in the teaching of science.

• Null hypothesis: there is no significant

difference between the perceptions of the
teachers and those of the students concerning
the different aspects in the teaching of science.
• Question: is there any significant difference
between the effectiveness of the inductive method
and that of the deductive method in the teaching of
science?

• Operational hypothesis: there is a significant

difference between the effectiveness of the
inductive method and that of the deductive method
in the teaching of science.

• Null hypothesis: there is no significant difference

between the effectiveness of the inductive method
and that of the deductive method in the teaching of
science.
Purposes, functions, and importance
of hypotheses of specific questions.

Hypotheses ( specific questions)

perform important functions in the
research such as the following :
• They help the researcher in the designing his
study: what methods, research instruments,
sampling design, and statistical treatments to
use, what data to gather, etc.
• They serve as bases for determining
assumptions.
• They serve as bases for determining the
relevance of the data.
• They serve as bases for the explanation or
discussion about the data gathered.
• They help or guide the researcher in
consolidating his findings and in formulating his
conclusions. Generally, findings and conclusions
are answers to the hypotheses or specific
questions raised at the start of the investigation.