Practical Research 2 approximately 1,850,000,000 active users as

compared to 400 million in 2012 (Smith, 2017). This

(Quantitative Research) exponential increase in social media activity has fueled
the interest of various researchers on the effect of
Writing Chapter 1
social media usage. Social media are forms of
The Problem and a Review of Related Literature
electronic communication devices through which users
create online communities to share information, ideas,
Parts of Chapter 1:
personal messages, and other content (Merriam-
Webster, 2017).
Introduction
Review of Related Literature
Due to this, several studies have examined the effect
Theoretical or Conceptual Framework
of social media on student academics (Matthews,
Schematic Diagram
2014; Johnson & Johnson, 2016), its relationship with
The Research Problem
stress (Santos, 2015; Chan, 2016), and attention span
Statement of the Problem
(Microsoft Corp., 2014; Jackson, 2016)
Scope and Limitation
Significance of the Study
According to a study funded by Microsoft in 2014,
Definition of Terms
people now generally lose concentration after eight
seconds, highlighting the affects of an increasingly
Seeking a Problem
digitalized lifestyle on the brain. Attention span, as
defined by Webster (2011) is the amount of
What are good resources of researchable problems?
concentrated time a person can spend on a task
without becoming distracted.
1. Theories to be validated, extended, or modified
2. Other studies, particularly through research
Microsoft found that since the year 2000 the average
recommendations
attention span dropped from 12 seconds to eight
3. National or international trends or situations to be
seconds. That is less than the nine-second attention
described or improved
span of the average goldfish.
4. Real-life problems, issues, experiences, or
situations
In the Philippines, there is still a limited number of
literature that directly links the use of social media to
How to describe the “Background of Research?”
attention span, especially those that look into the
Senior High School (SHS) students and their ability to
1. Describe the field you will be researching
maintain concentration. Furthermore, the international
2. Tell us why this field is important
researches conducted on this topic does not provide
3. Describe the current (and relevant) “hot topics” in the
evidence that the results transcend through different
field
cultural backgrounds and age groups. It is in this light
4. Describe the specific area you will be researching in
that the purpose of this study to determine whether
the field
social media usage possess any significant
5. Tell us why your research will add to the field
relationship with the attention span of Grade 12
6. Describe your research as an answer to the problem
students of La Salle University.
7. Explain what you will do in your research
8. Summarize the current research base in your
How to Select and Review the Literature
specific area of interest and highlight any gaps in the
research that you plan to address
What is Review of Related Literature?
Note:
A systematic, explicit and reproducible method for
identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing the existing
Ensure that paragraphs summarize unresolved issues,
body of completed and recorded work produced by
conflicting findings, social concerns, or educational,
researchers, scholars, and practitioners (Fink, 2005)
national, or international issues.
It is used
Write the last paragraph to highlight the research gap.
1. to justify your choice of research question,
Example:
theoretical or conceptual framework, and method
2. to establish the importance of the topic
SHS Students’ Social Media Usage and Their
3. to provide background information needed to
Attention Span in Class
understand the study
4. to prove researchers’ familiarity with significant
Over the past decade, social media has drastically
and/or up-to-date research relevant to the topic;
increased its breadth in terms of the number of people
5. to establish your study as one link in a chain of
who use it significantly. In fact, Facebook alone, as of
research that is developing knowledge in your field.
January 2017 has reached a record high of
Popular sources of Literature:

journal articles, books, conference proceedings,

government and corporate reports, newspapers,
theses and dissertations, magazines, internet

Online Sources:

Elsevier (journals.elsevier.com)
Wiley (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
Taylor and Francis (tandfonline.com)
Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)

Ethical Standards in Writing Related Literature

Ethical writing is a reflection of ethical practice

(Roig, 2017)

1. Report findings with complete honesty

2. Do not misinterpret. misinform, mislead, and/or
intentionally misinterpret
3. Give appropriate credit when using other people’s
work
4. Avoid plagiarism by fully acknowledging all content
belonging to others
Some Online Plagiarism Detector Sites
Ethical Issues
http://plagiarisma.net/
1. Plagiarism https://www.thepensters.com/free-plagiarism-checker-
for-students-online.html
a. blatant plagiarism – writer tries to deceive readers http://www.quetext.com/
into believing that s/he is totally responsible for the https://www.paperrater.com/plagiarism_checker
content http://www.duplichecker.com/
b. technical plagiarism – writer fails to follow accepted
methods of using and revealing sources Assignment: Please review how to cite using APA
format.
2. Language Use
Formulation of Framework
It is an ethical responsibility of the writer to be sensitive
of his audience. Frameworks

Guidelines: - serves as roadmap that shows how your research fits

1. Do not make sweeping generalizations about a
specific gender, ethnic minority, or any category of
people.
2. When referring to racial groups use accurate and
politically correct terminology
3. Avoid sexist phrasing
4. When referring to individuals with physical
impairments, always place the description after the
subject
into what is already known, relating it to existing theory
and research and how the research makes a
contribution in the field
Theoretical Framework
- general representation of relationships between
things in a given phenomenon
- a particular theory is enough to provide theoretical
basis for the conduct of the study

3. Fraud Conceptual Framework

The fabrication of data and results just to get over the - also called the research paradigm
course or work requirement. - describes the relationship between specific variables
identified in the study

Schematic Diagram
- representation of the elements of a system using
abstract, graphic symbols
How to Formulate the Diagram
Step One: Isolate important variables
Step Two: Create a box for the variables
Basic Design Components
Box: variable
Arrow: causal influence (cause and effect)
Line: connection (correlation)
Example:
Relationship Between the Hours of Study and Exam
Scores
Hours of Exam Scores
Study
(DV)
(IV)
Scope and Limitation
The coverage of this study…
The study consists of…
The study covers the….
The study is focused on…
Scope
– explains what information or subject is being
analyzed
- covers as up to what extent the researcher would
want to explore/ interpret his/ her research
Limitation - identifies potential weakness of the study
Instrument, sample, threats to internal validity
Limitations - influences that the researcher cannot
control
shortcomings, influences, conditions, time constraints
Delimitation - parameter of the study
a. things you are not doing
b. literature you will not review
c. population you are not studying
d. procedures you will not use
Example:
This study was conducted in the selected areas in
National Capital Region. It focused on the impact of
working at an early age of children who have
experienced child labor. The respondents of this study
were selected 100 students from NCR who willingly
and honestly answered the survey questionnaires
(Child Labor Research, 2014)
Beneficiaries of the Study
Significance of the Study
- person, group, organization, communities or other
legal entity that the researcher/s target to benefit either
directly or indirectly from any action or program as a
result of the study
Paragraph One: What will be the general contribution
of your research as a whole?
Paragraph Two: Which group of people will
specifically benefit from the study? How exactly?
The Definition of Terms
Three Parts of a Formal Definition
a. The term to be defined
b. The class of object or concept that the term belongs
c. The differentiating characteristics
Example:
Comic books (term) are sequential and narrative
publications (class) consisting of illustrations, captions,
dialogue balloons, and often focus on super-powered
heroes (differentiating characteristics).
Two Ways of Defining Terms
Conceptual definition - explains the meaning of a term
using the dictionary
Operational definition – describes a term by how the
researcher used it in his/her study.
Why Define Terms?
1. because your writing may contain a term that may
be key to audience understanding and likely unfamiliar
to them
e.g. Stellar Wobble is a measurable varation of speed
wherein a star’s velocity is shifted by gravitational pull
of a foreign body
2. because your writing may contain a commonly used
word or phrase that has layers of subjectivity in the way
you chose to define it
e..g Classic gaming will refer specifically to playing
video gems produced for the Atari, the original
Nintendo Entertainment System, and any system in
between
3. because your writing may need to explain the origin
of a common word that will help expand a point
e.g. Pagan can be traced back to Roman military slang
for an incomplete soldier...