Should be great interest to the researcher

Should be relevant and useful to a specific

group of people
It is novel in that it possesses the element
of newness or freshness
Should be well-defined or specified –i.e.
includes clear statements of key
concepts in the study
• It should be measurable
• It should be time-bounded i.e. it should be
completed within a specific period of time
• It should not cause ethical or moral violations
- should not violates privacy, dignity, self
respect and freedom of the target
population
It should contribute to the refinement of
certain important concepts, creation or
improvement of research instruments and
analytical and should permit generalization
It should be manageable
How does one go about defining
his research problem?
• The researcher should see to it that
the major concepts or terms included
in the study are clearly defined
• The next step is for the researcher to
limit the scope of the study in terms
of
– 1. issues or concerns
– 2. area coverage
– 3.subject or respondents
– 4 time allotment
– 5. data requirement – qualitative or
quantitative
• The term OBJECTIVE has been defined –as “an
effect that is desired or expected to be achieved
by an activity, project or program”
• RESEARCH OBJECTIVES –refers to the
statements of purpose for which the investigation
is to be conducted.
• They describe the aims or goals which are
expected to be attained at the end of the research
process
• Research problem is the initiating reason for the
study : the research objectives should be anchored
or based on it
• The GENERAL OBJECTIVE – is a broad
statement of purpose which uses abstract and
non-measurable concepts.

• The SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE –is a statement of

purpose which uses well defined and measurable
concepts the formulation of which should be
based on and logically flow from the general
objective
 Ex. General Objective
• The primary concern of this study is
to find out the knowledge, attitude
and practice of traditional and
modern medicines in two progressive
provinces in Western Visayas,
namely, Iloilo and Negros Occidental
 Specific Objectives,
Specifically, this study aims
to know the following:
• 1. Ilongos’and Negrenses’ knowledge of the
traditional and modern medicines as indicated
by the approach or procedure and materials or
substances used in treating ill persons
• Their attitude toward each type of medicine,
that is, whether they take each type with
favor or disfavor;
• Their pattern of utilization: any of two types,
traditional-then-modern, modern-then-
traditional, or simultaneous use of both types;
• Their reasons for using certain medical
patterns
• Should be Stated in simple language;
• They are Measurable concepts;
• They are Attainable
• They are Result-oriented; and
• They are Time-bound
 How are Research
Objectives stated:
• Research objectives should be stated clearly;
that is, no interpretation other than what the
researcher mean can be deduced from it.
• To test the clarity of the statement of objectives
it is suggested that the research reads to two or
more persons the study objectives and ask them
about their understandings among the persons
asked are similar and match with that of the
researcher then the objectives are clearly stated.
 The statement of research
objectives maybe in a declarative
or question form

• Declarative form: To find out the level

of administrative competence of school
administrators in the Province of Iloilo.

• Question form: What is the level of

administrative competence of school
administrators in the Province of Iloilo?
 Research Paradigm
• Or framework of the study is required of
many investigations particularly those
which are meant to meet their thesis
requirement.
• It is a “ perspective or frame of reference
for viewing the social world, consisting of
a set of concepts and assumptions.
• It is a useful devise in organizing existing
data meaningfully in a specific area of
investigation
3 Levels of Research
Paradigm/framework
• !. Theoretical Paradigm– makes use of a
theory/ies in explaining why a certain phenomenon
exist and how the various factors which brought
about the phenomenon are interrelated.
• It uses abstract concepts – some instances it is a
combination of abstract and well defined concepts

• 2.Conceptual paradigm – has the same functions

as the Theoretical paradigm the difference lies in
the concepts which they use
• Theoretical paradigm – uses abstract
concepts
• Conceptual Paradigm uses constructs which
are specific or well- defined concepts

3. The Operational Paradigm – is the level where

the concepts used are not only defined as
they are used in the study but are measurable
as well.
• It is a statement about expected
relationship between two or more variables
which permit empirical testing ( Fisher, et
al 1991)
• Some researcher consider as the most
specific statement of a research
objective.
• It is a tentative and educated/intelligent
guess or prediction about the existence,
attributes or relationship between factors
or variables covered in the study.
• It considered educated/ intelligent
because its formulation involves
critical thinking and decision on the
basis of well-thought-of
objectives, research paradigm and
review of related literature
• Its veracity i.e. whether it is true
or not be tested using the data
that will be gathered. If the data
support it then it will not be
rejected but if the data do not
support it then it will be rejecte
• The number of hypotheses depends on the
number of research objectives which are
comparative and relational in nature.
• At least there is one hypothesis for each
objective which says about relationship
between variables, or difference between
groups in terms of certain characteristics.
• It is also possible than an objective may
require 2 or more hypotheses, like when
one guesses not only the existence of
relationship but also direction and degree
of relationship.
• There are also objective that need not
have a hypothesis, like the aim of finding
out the personal characteristics of
subject under investigation.
Ex. Hypotheses in the study of Palma-Sealza
(1993)on factors affecting utelization of
barangay health centers
• 1. Individuals with differing demographic
characteristics have different types and
incidence of illness, resulting in different
patterns using health services.
• Individuals with differing social structural
characteristics have differing lifestyles,
resulting in differing patterns of health service
utelization.
• Persons who know of the existence of service in
the community are more likely to use them,
specially when is not expensive.
 Types of Hypothesis
1. Null hypothesis- is a statement of
denial of relationship, difference or an
effect.
It is expressed in the negative form of
a statement
– Ex. There is no significant difference
between the academic achievementg of
students coming rural areas and that of
students who live in urban areas
– Ex. On relationship: there is no relationship
between the beliefs of mother and their
utelization of traditional medicines
• Alternative hypothesis- states the very opposite
of what the null hypothesis predicts . Best and
Kahn (1989) call it the research or scientific
hypothesis.
• It is a formal affirmative statement predicting a
single research outcome, a tentative explanation
of the relationship between 2 or more variables.

Ex.There are significantly more users of family

planning method in the city barangays than in
the rural barangays.
Educational attainment is associated with social
and economic status of the perso
There is a relationship between the incomes of
people in the urban and in the rural areas.

Note Hypotheses are required only for studies

which have comparative and relational
objectives
 Characteristics of Good Hypotheses

• 1. It should be reasonable –they are

offshoots or results of critical though
tentative judgment or eplanatin of a
phenomenon.
• They have been formulated with valid basis.
• 2.It should be stated in such a way that it is
testable and found to be true or false
• With the use of statistical tool, it should be
known whether the ris relationship or
differences between 2 or more variables, or
whether a variable has an influence or effect
on another.
• 3.It should conform with known facts or
theories.
– Ex. If a related study disclosed that
Filipinos in general favor democracy
over communism, it would be w/o basis
to predict that the ethnic groups like
Ilongos and Cebuanos have favorable
attitude towards communism
• 4. It should be stated in the simplest
possible terms
– If complex statement may result to
misunderstanding – irrelevant
presentation and analysis of data.
 USES of Hypotheses
• They provide guide and direction to research
• They indicate the major independent and
dependent variables being considered;
• They suggest the type of data must be
collected
• They also suggest the type of analyses that
must be made
• They also indicate the type of statistical
measures appropriate to various test to be
conducted
 Assumption
• Are statements related to research problem
which the researcher believes or presumes to
be true.
• Such presumption or belief of the researcher
is based on observations and experience.
• They are stated so as to provide
foundation on which the study is
anchored and from which it will
proceed.
• They also serve as additional bases
for validation of research
hypotheses.
• Unlike hypotheses – assumption do
not require testing or confirmation
 Ex. of assumptions
. people have certain attitude toward
1
anything
2. School administrators and business
managers experience job-related
tension
3. Any individual wishes or desires
acceptance by a social group
4.Students possess ability and
objectivity in rating the teaching
performance of their teacher.
• City life is more complex than life in
rural areas.
 Scope and limitations
Scope of the study defines the coverage or
boundary of the study in terms of the
1. area or locality
2. subject or population
3. duration or period
4. issues w/c are explicitly stated in
specific objectives of the study.
Limitations are statements w/c alert
the reader of the research report to
certain conditions w/c are beyond the
control of the researcher.
• Such limiting conditions or
constraints have direct bearing on
the result of the study because they
have place restriction on the
conclusion of the study and their
application to other situations
 Definition of terms is the section of
the research paper- where key /or important
terms in the study are clearly defined
• Types and functions
 CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION –is the universal meaning
that is attribute to a word or group of words and which is
understood by Many people
 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION –is the meaning of the
concept or term as used in a particular study-it is stated
in a concrete term in that it allows measurement
Ex. Attitude “ refers tg a mental
disposition, feeling or emotion
toward a state or fact.
 In this study the term means the
student’s feeling and disposition
toward school authorities as
indicated by their responses to
attitudinal questions or items in the
questionnaire.