WRITING THE RESEARCH PAPER

TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

Write and present academic papers using appropriate
tone, style, conventions and reference styles.

Adapt awareness of audience and context in presenting

ideas.

Convey ideas through oral, audio-visual, and/or web-based

presentations for different target audiences in local and global settings
using appropriate registers.
 TOPIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1 2 3 4

Determine the Define the parts Develop appreciation Identify the parts of
on the importance of the research and
different parts of the research making research
paper through its specified
of a research papers on the growth
functions through
paper. their individual of understanding
regarding the world. an individual
functions. activity.
 RESEARCH PAPER

A research paper is
a formal written
research report or
output undertaken
by a single
individual or a group
of researchers in a
school, firm or
organization.
 Cont’d.

Burns and Gove (1987)

define research as “the
root meaning of the
word research is to
search again or to
examine carefully. It is
systematic inquiry or
investigation to
validate old knowledge
and generate new
knowledge.
CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH

It is generated by a question.

It necessitates clarification of a goal.

It is aimed at increasing understanding by

interpreting facts or ideas and reaching some
conclusions about their meaning.

It requires reasoned argument to support

conclusions.

It is reiterative in its activities.

 MAIN PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER

Introduction/ Review of Research Results and Summary,

Background of the Related Design/ Discussion Conclusions
Study Literature Methodology/ and
Recommend
Procedures ations
 PRELIMINARIES (FRONT)
Title page

Approval Sheet

Abstract

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
THE TEXT (BODY)
The Problem and its Background
Rationale / Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Objectives of the study
Significance of the study
Assumptions of the study
Hypothesis
Scope and Delimitation of the study
Definition of terms
EXAMPLE OF TITLE PAGE

[TITLE OF THE RESEARCH]

[Name of the Researcher(s)]
[Submission Statement]
[Degree/Course]
[Date]
SAMPLE FORMAT
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page …………………………………………………………………. i
Approval Sheet ………………………………………………………… ii
Acknowledgment ……………………………………………………. iii
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………. iv
List of Figures ………………………………………………………….. v
List of Tables ………………………………………………………….. vi
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………….. x
CHAPTER 1 …………….…………………………………………… page
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2 ………..………………………..……………………… page
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
CHAPTER 3 ………………………………………………………….. page
THEORETICAL/CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 4 …………………………..……………………….……. page
METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER 5 ………………………………….……………..……….. page
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CHAPTER 6 …………………………………….……………………..page

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS

REFERENCES ……………………………………….…………… page

APPENDICES …………………………………………....……… page
CURRICULUM VITAE ……………………….………………. ….page

EXAMPLE OF TABLE OF CONTENTS

 THE APPROVAL SHEET

It provides a space for

It presents the the signature of the
researcher’s compliance adviser, panelists, dean,
for the research and other people
requirements. involved indicating their
acceptance of the work
 ABSTRACT

This page normally contains the

title, name/s of the researcher/s,
It presents a brief institution, background of the
descriptive summary study, research problem,
methodology, findings,
of the research study. conclusions, and
recommendations.
 This study was conducted to determine whether the use of
collaborative learning method could have an effect to the reading
comprehension of the students. Specifically, it aimed to find out if
significant mean gain exists in pretest-posttest scores across the
revised edition of Bloom’s Taxonomy by Anderson and Krathwohl
(2001) reading comprehension levels- remembering, understanding
and analysis on the reading comprehension performance of the
students after their exposure to the cooperative learning strategy.
The study made use of one-group pretest-posttest design which
involved 50 Grade 7 students of National High School-B. These
respondents were considered experimental group. The
experimental group was exposed to collaborative learning method
Example of for 10 days. Results revealed that: (a) students’ reading
comprehension level proficiency across the revised edition of

Abstract
Bloom’s Taxonomy by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) –
remembering, understanding and analysis is high; (b) The
collaborative learning method is an effective tool in promoting
Grade 7 students’ reading comprehension level in remembering
and understanding level only. The study recommended that
schools and teachers should utilize the use of collaborative learning
method in promoting the comprehension levels of the students.
Future researchers may replicate the study utilizing another grade
level, expanding the duration of the study and by considering a
control group as one of the variables of the study to show
effectiveness of the method used.
Keywords/phrases: reading comprehension, collaborative learning
method
 THE PROBLEM AND ITS
BACKGROUND

It comprises the
introduction/rationale,
statement of the problem,
This is the first chapter of the
significance of the study,
paper.
assumptions or hypotheses,
scope and delimitation,
and the definition of terms.
RATIONALE/INTRODUCTION

The main purpose of the

introduction is to give a brief
explanation of why your
research topic is worthy of
study and why it may make a
significant contribution to the
body of already existing
research.
GUIDELINES IN WRITING RATIONALE
Justify the existence of the Use a deductive line
Start by describing the
problem situation by citing
problem situation in a global, of reasoning, from
statistical and authoritative
national, and local settings
sources as bases to macro to micro
or perspectives. perspective.
support the problem.

At the end of the rationale,

Make your
rationale/introduction as
short as possible with an
average of 3 pages.
cite motives and justification
which
prompted you to conduct
such study.
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
It must be a completely researchable unit.

It should be specifically, correctly, and grammatically

worded in the language of the research.

It should not be answerable by yes or no.

Each specific problem has a corresponding

statistical tool.
EXAMPLE OF STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM

What is the pretest reading

comprehension performance
of the students?

What is the posttest reading

comprehension performance of
the students?
Title: Effectiveness of
Collaborative Learning
Is there a significant mean gain on
the reading comprehension on Students’ Reading
performance of the students after
their exposure to the cooperative
Comprehension
learning strategy?
GUIDELINES IN DEVELOPING
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

It should be relevant, feasible, logical,

observable, unequivocal, and measurable.

It should be closely related to the

research problem.

It should be phrased in operational terms,

specifying exactly what the researcher/s is
going to do, where and for what purpose.

It should be static once the

study work begins.
 QUESTIONS TO DETERMINE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Why should my What practical

Of what use is the study be values does the
study? published? study have?

What significant scientific

contribution is my study
making to the field of
research?
ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY

Assumptions are realistic expectations

which are something we believed to be
true.

“What am I taking for granted with respect to the

problems?” The answer to that question will bring
your assumption into view”
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HYPOTHESIS

It is in a statistical form with a

It should be measurable. level of significance.

It cannot be accepted nor

It states expected relationship rejected in a decision making
between two or more activity without statistical
variables as answers to the significance which is usually .05 or
problems. .01.
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

o This indicates the coverage of the study (scope)

and the variables excluded (delimitation)
o Limitation of the study indicates the variables
that are to be contained/studied in the
research study, while delimitation of the study
are those which are not part (excluded) of the
study
 T.H.E.S.I.S
True Happiness Ended Since It Started
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Before you start writing your Review of Related

Literature or RRL, it is highly essential to make sure
that you have already defined your topic and
research problem. This ensures that you are already
certain of the scope of your research. This will make it
easier for you to find related research works and
articles on your chosen topic.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A review of related literature collects and

analyzes previous research and other existing
works on the topic that you are working on.
When writing your RRL, make sure to only
include relevant findings that are related to
your study.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles,

and any other sources relevant to a particular
issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing,
provides a description, summary, and critical
evaluation of these works in relation to the research
problem being investigated.
 RELEVANCE OF RRL

It helps gather valuable data and information that will

serve as guide for your research.

It serves as a support to your study.

It explains different aspects and information already

established from previous researches.
Readers of your research paper would appreciate the
various research works you have studied and referred from.
 FOUR STAGES OF RRL

Analysis
Problem Literature Data
Formulation Search Evaluation and
Interpretation
DIFFERENT WAYS TO ORGANIZE RRL

1 According to the chronology of the events

2 According to themes

3 According to methodologies used

 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical framework is the structure

that can hold or support a theory of a
research study. The theoretical framework
introduces and describes the theory that
explains why the research problem under
study exists.
 Cont’d.

The theoretical framework must demonstrate

an understanding of theories and concepts
that are relevant to the topic of your
research paper and that relate to the
broader areas of knowledge being
considered.
 Cont’d.

The theoretical framework strengthens the study,

specifically:
o The theoretical framework connects the
researcher to existing knowledge. Guided by a
relevant theory, you are given a basis for your
hypotheses and choice of research methods.
 EXAMPLE

Study:

Effectiveness of Collaborative Learning

Method on Students’ Reading
Comprehension
 EXAMPLE
This study is primarily anchored on the Social
Interdependence Theory by Johnson and Johnson
(1995). Social interdependence exists when the
accomplishment of each individual’s goals is
affected by the actions of others (Deutsch, 1949,
1962; Johnson, 1970; Johnson & Johnson, 1989).
 EXAMPLE
Another theory is the Socio-cognitive conflict
theory, which argues that dissent with one or
several partners over a task in which learning is
concerned may stimulate task-related cognitive
activity and result in progress (Doise & Mugny,
1984).
 EXAMPLE

Intersubjectivity Theory (Vygotsky, 1978), according

to this theory, inter-psychological processes
precede genetically to the intra-psychological
processes. This implies that individual consciousness
emerges due to and through communicative
interaction with others.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The conceptual framework offers a logical

structure of connected concepts that help
provide a picture or visual display of how
ideas in a study relate to one another within
the theoretical framework (Grant & Osanloo,
2014).
 Independent Dependent

Collaborative
Reading
Learning Comprehension
Method

Figure 1. The schematic diagram showing the variables

of the study.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The Significance of the Study describes what

contribution your study will make to the broad
literature or set of broad educational problems
upon completion. It is determining what you hope
will benefit others and/or how readers will benefit or
learn from your study.
 EXAMPLE
The results of the study would be of great
benefit to the following:
o Students
o Teachers
o School
o Future Researchers
 DEFINITION OF TERMS

o Terms may be arranged alphabetically or according to their

importance or use in the study. Refer to your institutional policy.
o Always indent the terms.
o Emphasize the terms to be defined either by a bold print,
underlining, or by italicization. Refer this matter to the
institutional policy.
o Do not number the terms to be defined.
o Do not capitalize the terms; only the first letter is capitalized.
 METHODOLOGY

The methodology of your research paper

shows the different methods and processes
that will help you systematically solve your
research problem. The list of methods to
utilize should be grounded by academic
reasons, not personal choices.
 RESEARCH DESIGN

As defined by Burns and Grove (2003), a

research design serves as “a blueprint for
conducting a study with maximum control
over factors that may interfere with the
validity of the findings.”
 OTHER RESEARCH DESIGNS

Quasi-
Correlation Experimental Narrative
experimental

Note: Refer to the next slide for the definitions.

 It describes what exists at the moment (conditions,
Correlation practices, processes, structures etc.) and is
therefore, classified as a type of descriptive method.
Is a type of evaluation that seeks to determine
Experimental whether a program or intervention had the intended
causal effect on program participants.

They are often conducted to evaluate the

Quasi- effectiveness of a treatment—perhaps a type of
experimental
psychotherapy or an educational intervention.

It is a literary form of qualitative research. It is

Narrative qualitative method of collecting and telling stories
from a person’s life.
TWO APPROACHES OF RESEARCH

Qualitative Quantitative
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
PURPOSE To understand and interpret social interactions. To test hypotheses, look at cause & effect, & make
predictions.
GROUP STUDIED Smaller and not randomly selected Large and randomly selected
TYPE OF DATA COLLECTED Words, images, or objects Numbers and statistics

FORM OF DATA COLLECTED Qualitative data such as open-ended responses,
interviews, participant observations, field notes, and
reflections.
TYPE OF DATA ANALYSIS Identify patterns, features, and themes.
RESULTS Particular or specialized findings that is less generalizable.
SCIENTIFIC METHOD Exploratory or bottom-up; the researcher generates a
new hypothesis and theory from the data collected.
Quantitative data based on precise measurements
using structured & validated data-collection
instruments.
Identify statistical relationships.
Generalizable findings that can be applied to other
populations.
Confirmatory or top-down; the researcher tests the
hypothesis and theory with the data.

VIEW OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR Dynamic, situational, social, and personal. Regular and predictable.

FOCUS Wide-angle lens; examines the breadth and depth of Narrow-angle lens; tests a specific hypotheses.
phenomena.
NATURE OF OBSERVATION Study behavior in a natural environment. Study behavior under controlled conditions.

NATURE OF REALITY Multiple realities; subjective. Single reality; objective.

FINAL REPORT Narrative report with contextual description and direct Statistical report with correlations, comparisons of
quotations from research participants. means, and statistical significance of findings.

COMPARATIVE
 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

A research instrument is a survey,

questionnaire, test, scale, rating, or tool
designed to measure the variable(s),
characteristic(s), or information of interest,
often a behavioral or psychological
characteristic.
 SAMPLING SIZE

Respondents Sampling
Locale of the Procedure
Who will take Study
part in your How do we
Where is the come up
study? How
research
many will they with your
conducted
be? respondents?
RANDOM SAMPLING PROCEDURE
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF SAMPLING
PROCEDURE USING

Key Purposive Random Stratified

Snowball
Informant Sampling Sampling Sampling
 DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE

o How will the investigation be conducted?

What will be the research instruments that
will be used?
o Data gathering procedures may include
interviews, focus group discussions, surveys,
questionnaires, and many more.
 DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE

For example, if you did an interview, make sure to indicate and

discuss the following:
o How did you prepare for the interview?
o What type of interview was used?
o What is the manner of the interview? How was it conducted?
o Who is/are interviewed? What makes them credible for the said
interview?
o What are the kind of question asked?
The following steps were observed in the gathering of data:

Permission and approval for the conduct of the study. A letter was given to
the Principal of National High School B. The principal signed and approved
the letter the following day.

Administration of the pre-test. Pretest was immediately administered to the

respondents to describe the level of academic performance of each
student prior to the intervention.

Retrieval of the pretest. When done, the researchers gathered and

collected the pre-test from the respondents.

EXAMPLE
Conduct of the method. Discussions were followed utilizing the
collaborative learning method. The respondents were observed on how
they interacted and collaborated among others.

Administration of the posttest. Posttest was then administered the

following day with the application of the intervention.

Retrieval of the posttest. The researchers then retrieved and collected

the accomplished instruments.

Tallying. Responses were tallied accordingly and with confidentiality.

EXAMPLE
 STATISTICAL TREATMENT

o Frequency and Percentage Distribution. Used to

determine the percentage usually for data on profile(e.g.
level, age, gender, etc.)
o Mean. Used to get average or central value (e.g. level,
extent, status, etc.)
o T-test. Used to determine two (2) variable means which
differ significantly or to test the significant difference
between 2 variable means
 STATISTICAL TREATMENT

o Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Used to find out if the

frequency of two or more variables in the study differ
significantly or test the significant difference among several
groups.
o Pearson Product – Moment Correlation Coefficient. Used to find
the degree of the association of two sets of variables, X and Y
or to test the significant relationship between the two variables
Multiple Correlation Used to test if the independent variables
have influence on the dependent variables.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Right after gathering data from your research

respondents, there is a need to present, analyze,
and interpret data findings. In this part of your
research paper, there is a need for a thorough
analysis of the information that you have collected.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Presentation Analysis of Interpretation

of data data of data
 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

This is the last part of the research process. In this

chapter of your study, you have to create the
summary of the whole research. Moreover,
conclusions and recommendations for further
research and other improvements should also be
included.
 SUMMARY and CONCLUSIONS

o The summary is a condensed form of all the major

points and content of a research paper. It should be
brief in form, yet substantial.
o The conclusion focuses on providing answers to the
specific problems of the research. It serves as a logical
outgrowth of your findings.
 RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations are derived from the

conclusion of the study. The main goal of
this part is to offer general or specific
actions that may lead to the improvement
or development of the research.
Students should embrace the use of collaborative learning method in the learning
process as an effective tool in interacting one another and developing confidence
among others.

Teachers should utilize the use of collaborative learning method in improving the
reading comprehension levels of the students especially with those reading
difficulty.

School should encourage the teachers to utilize and make a habit in applying the
collaborative learning method in maximizing students’ full participation in class and
in promoting the comprehension levels of the students.

Future researchers may replicate the study utilizing another grade level, expanding
the duration of the study and by considering a control group as one of the
variables of the study to show effectiveness of the method used.

EXAMPLE
 APPENDIX

The appendix includes all the

supplementary materials that are
relevant to the research.
WRITING REFERENCES:
APA FORMAT
 Bibliography Reference
o Include citations to o Citations are meant
o Both appear
works which might to direct reader to
at the book
not be mentioned particular works
o Both include
in the text. cited in the text.
similar info
o Citations are o Sources cited need
o Both include
included for to be mentioned in
alphabetical
suggested further the text.
ly arranged
reading or o Used in scholarly
citations
background papers and your
purposes. research paper.
o There’s no APA style o There’s an APA style
for bibliographies. for reference lists
(also called works
cited list.)
 Basics

Your list of works cited should begin at

the end of the paper on a new page
with the centered title, References.
 Example

Patrick Smithson
John Mercado Cruz

Cruz, J.M. (Publication Date)

Smithson, P. (Publication Date)
 For dates

dd-mm-yy (22 July 1999)

mm-dd-yy (July 22, 1999)
 Underlining or Italics

If you write a reference by hand, you

should still underline the names of
publications. But, if you use a computer,
then publication names should be in
italics.
Capitalization, Abbreviation, and
Punctuation

The APA guidelines specify using

sentence-style capitalization for the
titles of books or articles, so you should
capitalize only the first word of a title
and subtitle.
 Book Format

Author's last name, first initial.

(Publication date). Book title. Additional
information. City of publication:
Publishing company.
 Tyron Allen
Vanishing wildlife of North America
1974
National Geographic Society
Washington, D.C
Allen, T. (1974). Vanishing wildlife of North America. Washington,
D.C.: National Geographic Society.

SINGLE-AUTHOR BOOK
 What about a book written by
MORE THAN ONE AUTHOR?

Natarajan, P., & Chaturvedi, R. (2003). Geology of the

Indian Ocean Floor. Hartford, CT: Merganser
University Press.
 What happens if my book has
NO AUTHOR OR EDITOR listed?

Computers in the world of business

communicators. (1983). Hartford, CT: Capital Press.
Encyclopedia & Dictionary Format

Author's last name, first initial. (Date).

Title of Article. Title of
Encyclopedia (Volume, pages). City of
publication: Publishing company.
 Encyclopedia Example

Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. The

new encyclopedia britannica (Vol. 26,
pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia
Britannica.
 Dictionary Example

Merriam-Webster’s collegiate
dictionary (10th ed.). (1993). Springfield,
MA: Merriam-Webster.
Magazine & Newspaper Articles

Author's last name, first initial.

(Publication date).Article title. Periodical
title, volume number(issue number if
available), inclusive pages.
 Example

Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for

preparing psychology journal articles. Journal
of Comparative and Physiological
Psychology, 55, 893-896.
 Website or Webpage Format

Online periodical:

Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of

article. Title of Periodical, volume number,
Retrieved month day, year, from full URL
 Example

Devitt, T. (August 02, 2001). Lightning injures

four at music festival. The Why? Files.
Retrieved January 23, 2002, from
http://whyfiles.org/137lightning/index.html
 Format

Online document:

Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of

work. Retrieved month day, year, from full
URL
 Example

Health Canada. (February 2002). The safety of

genetically modified food crops. Retrieved March
22, 2005, from http://www.hc
sc.gc.ca/english/protection/biologics_genetics/ge
n_mod_foods/genmodebk.html
 Parenthetical Citation

A typical citation of an entire work

consists of the author's name and the
year of publication.
 Example

Charlotte and Emily Bronte were polar

opposites, not only in their personalities
but in their sources of inspiration for
writing (Taylor, 1990).
 In-text Citations

If the author is named in the text, only

the year is cited.

According to Irene Taylor (1990), the

personalities of Charlotte. . .
 PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is the act of passing off somebody else’s

ideas, thoughts, pictures, theories, words, or stories
as your own. If a researcher plagiarizes the work of
others, they are bringing into question the integrity,
ethics, and trustworthiness of the sum total of his or
her research.
 Cont’d.

In addition, plagiarism is both an illegal act and

punishable, considered to be on the same level as
stealing from the author that which he or she
originally created (A Guide to Research Ethics,
2003).
 AUTHORSHIP
Authorship is the process of deciding whose names
belong on a research paper. It should be based
only on:
o Substantial contributions to conception and
design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and
interpretation of data.
 Cont’d.
o Drafting the article or revising it critically for
important intellectual content; and
o Final approval of the version to be published
o Conditions 1,2, and 3 must all be met.