 A researchmay stem from idea,

problem, or issue that evokes your

personal interest or curiosity
 Creswell(2014) defines a research
topic as “ the issue or problem
leading to the need for a research
to come up with a potential
solution”
 1. Reading books, research articles,
and other professional publications.
 2. Asking helps from experts.
 3. Observing things for some
experiences about this interest.
 REMINDERS:
 What is current and what is new;
 Recommendations of researchers who
have conducted similar studies;
 What has already been studied; and
 New ways of gathering data
 Whendo you know if
your research topic is too
broad or too narrow?
Genereally, it will be hard to
conduct research on topic and
find the answers you need
within the alloted space and
time.
 You retrieve "too many
information" making it hard to
choose which ones are most
relevant and which ones you
can simply discard.
 The concepts and ideas are so
varied that it is hard to
integrate them together and
you can get easily off- track.
Personal Sources
 Stem from the personal experiences,
observations, and interests of the
researcher/s. These topics are
influenced by the individuals
perspectives, inclinations and values.
Scholarly Sources
 Scholarly literature includes journal
articles, books research papers and
documents written by academics,
professionals and research
organizations.
Non Scholarly Sources
 Include newspapers, magazines, radio,
television, and internet sources. These
sources provide the researches
information on current affairs and
political, social, economical, or cultural
issues.
RESEARCH PROBLEM
 Identification of a research problem is
the first and most important step in
research process
 A broad area is selected and then broad
topic delimited or narrowed down to a
specific one sentence statement of the
problem. Its very difficult, challenging,
and needs lot of time.
 THE
RESEARCH
PROBLEM (According to
Calderon & Gonzales)
- A problem is’’ any significant,
perplexing and challenging
situation, real or artificial, the
solution of which requires
reflexive thinking”
 A statement the area of concern of the
research. It also sets the direction of
the research as it provides the
foundation for the research is suitable
to address the problem.
 1. A research problem is not just
answerable by yes or no. It should
imply the explanations and
justifications regarding the true
situation or observation are required.
 2. It implies relationship between the
variables of the study.
 3. The problem should be stated in
clear, unambiguous manner.
 4. A researchable problem must apply
interpretation and analysis data.
 5. It relates to an individual's
curiosity and interest.
SOURCES OF RESEARCH
PROBLEMS
 Most research in humanities
revolves around four Ps;
People
Problems
Programs
Phenomena
Steps in formulating a
Research Problem

Step 1. Identify broad field

Step 2. Dissect to sub-areas
Step 3. Select intetested
sub-areas
Step 4. Raise questions
Steps in formulating a
Research Problem
 Step 5. Formulate
objectives
 step 6. Assesss objective
 Step 7. Double check
What does " related"
means?

" Related means connected

in some way, in the same
family, or belonging to the
same group because of
shared characteristics,
qualities, etc.
What does "literature" means
?

" Literature" means the

writings of a period of a
country, especially valued for
their excellence; of style or
form; all the books or articles
on a subject; any printed matter
What is "related literature"
?

The "Related literature" (RL) are

taken from published articles,
books, journals, magazines,
novels, poetry, and many
others which have bearing to
the present study. The
 A Literature review is an evaluation
report of studies found in the literature
related to your selected area.
 The review should describe, summarize,
evaluate and clarify this literature. It
should give a theoretical basis for the
research and help you determine the nature
of your own research.
There are several reasons why you
conduct a literature review, some of
them are;
 Provide a context for the research
 Justify the research
 Enable the researcher to learn from
previous theory on the subject
CHARACTERISTICS OF
RELATED LITERATURE
MATERIALS
 1. The surveyed materials
must be as recent as possible
 2. Materials reviewed must be
objective and unbiased
 3. Materials surveyed must be
relevant to the study
 4. Surveyed materials must
have been based upon
genuinely original and true
facts or data to make them
• To establish the state of the current “
knowledge” or agreement about your research
topic
• A literature review is not merely a chronicle
of who wrote, what and when, but an in depth
examination of texts to identify and investigate
more critical elements where current
understanding is unclear and which the new
research can address.
 Finally,its main objective is to identify,
criticize and synthesize the most recent,
relevant and authoritative texts related to
the research being undertaken
 1. To demonstrate a familiarity with a body of
knowledge and establish credibility.
 2. To show the path of prior research and how
a current project is linked to it.
 3. To integrate and summarize what is
known in an area.
 4. To learn from others and stimulate new
ideas.
The term "sources" refers to print, electronic or
visual materials necessary for your research.
Sources are classified into primary, secondary
and tertiary.
Example of Primary Sources
• Letters, correspondences, diaries, memoirs,
autobiographies, official or research topics,
patents and designs and empirical research
articles.
Example of Secondary Sources
• Academic journal articles, conference
proceedings, books, documentaries.

Example of Tertiary Sources

• Encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases,
handbooks.
What is a citation?

• A citation is both a signpost

and an acknowledgement .
• As a signpost, it signals the
location of a source.
• As an acknowledgement, it
reveals that you are indebted to
that source.
When writing a research paper,
literature citation is important for a
reasons;

1. To avoid plagiarism which is

against the student code of conduct
or ethical standards.
 Plagiarism is defined as submitting
as one's own work, irrespective of
intent to deceive, that which derives
in part or in its entirely from the
work of others without due
acknowledgement. It is both poor
scholarship and breach of academic
integrity.
2. To assign proper authority to a
statement(this adds weight to
your paper)
3. Citation gives details of a
scholarly publication's location,
helping people find it quickly.
Referencing Sources
• Referencing your sources means
systematically showing what
information or ideas you are
quoting or paraphrasing from
another author's work and where
they come from.
Reasons for Referencing Sources
1. Adds authority to your work by
supporting it with previous research.
2. Demonstrates reading and
understanding of relevant literature.
3. Enables the reader to track down the
original sources to check its quality.
4. Ensures that you write in an ethical
manner by giving credit to the original
authors.
What is a Reference?

 An acknowledgement that
you have referred to (cited)
information from published
sources in your own work.
 In other words, a recognition
that you have borrowed other
people’s work, ideas or
opinions.
Why to reference?

Proves that substantial

research has been done to
support our analysis.
Enables others to follow up on
our work.
Gives credit to other people's
work.
Avoid charges of
plagiarism.
Required to support all
significant statements.
Used to indicate the origin
of material & source for
research & further reading.
TYPES OF REFERENCES

 Journal reference
 Book reference
 Internet reference
REFERENCE ELEMENTS
 Authors name
 Article title
 Journal name
 Year
 Volume
 Page numbers
REFERENCE STYLE

 A referencing style is a specific

format for presenting in-text
references( footnotes or endnotes)
and bibliography.
 It is a act of referring
 American Psychological Association
Style (APA)
 Modern Language Association Style
(MLA)
 The Chicago Manual Style
American Psychological Association
Style (APA)
 Author's name followed by its
initials.
 Year of publication
 Article title followed by full stop
 Name of Journal in italis form
 Volume followed by a comma
 Page no.
 Example
 Alibali, M. W., Philips, K. M., &
Fischer, A. D. (2009).
Learning new problem-
solving strategies leads to
changes in problem
representation. Cognitive
Development, 24, 89-101.
Modern Language Association Style
(MLA)
 Authors name.
 Tiltle of article
 Name of journal
 Volume number followed by decimal &
issue no.
 Year of publication
 Page numbers
 Medium of publication
Example
Matarrita- Cascante, David.
"Beyond Growth; Reaching
Tourism- LedDevelpoment."
Annals of Tourism Research
37. 4(2010): 1141-63. Print
The Chicago Manual Style
 Name of author

 Article title in double qoutarion

mark
 Title of journal in italic
 Volume
 Year of publication
 Page no.
Example
Joshua I. Weinstein, " The
Market in Plato's " Classical
Philology, 104 (2009): 440.
 Reference list – a list of sources we
have cited in our text arranged in the
order they appeared within the text. It
is usually put at the end of our work
but it can also appear as a footnote( at
the bottom of the page), or endnote( at
the end of each chapter) which serves a
similar purpose.
 Bibliography – A separate list of
sources we have consulted but not
specifically cited in our work
including background reading. It is
arranged alphabetically by the
author’s surname.
 Steps in Report Writing are;
 A. Logical analysis of the subject-matter
 B. Preparation of the final outline
 C. Preparation of the rough draft
 D. Rewriting and polishing
 E. Preparation of the final bibliography;
And
 F. Writing the final draft
A. LOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE
SUBJECT MATTER
 It is the first step which is
primarily concerned with the
development of a subject and
there are two ways in which to
develop a subject.

 A. Logically and
B. Chronologically
B. PREPARATION OF THE FINAL
OUTLINE

 Outlines are the framework

upon which long written works
are constructed. They are an
aid to the logical organizations
of the material and a reminder
of the points to be stressed in
the report.
C. PREPARATION OF THE
ROUGH DRAFT

 Thisstep is of utmost
importance for the now sits
to write down what has
done in the context of
research study.
D. REWRITING AND POLISHING
OF THEROUGH DRAFT

 Inthis the researcher should

give due attention to the fact
that in his rough draft has
been consistent or not. It
should check the mechanics of
writing grammar, spelling and
usage.
E. PREPARATION OF THE FINAL
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 The bibliography which is

generally appended to the
research report is a list of
books in some way pertinent
to the research which has
been done.
F. WRITING THE FINAL DRAFT

 This constitutes the last step. The

final draft should be written in a
brief and objective style and in
simple language , avoiding
unclear expressions such as " it
seems" "there may be" etc.

What is a synthesis?
 A synthesis is a discussion that draws
on one or more sources. Your ability
to infer relationships among sources
such as essays, articles, fiction and
also non-written sources such as
lecture, interviews, and observations.
 It
refers to the bringing together of
materials from different sources and
the creation of an integrated whole.
TYPES OF SYNTHESIS

 1. EXPLANATORY
SYNTHESIS
 2. ARGUMENT SYNTHESIS
1. EXPLANATORY SYNTHESIS
- It helps the readers to understand a
topic. Its primary aims is to present
the facts in a reasonably objective
manner. Explanations given may
entail descriptions, sequences of
events or state of affairs.
2. ARGUMENT SYNTHESIS

- Its purpose is for you to present your

own point of view with the support of
relevant facts drawn from services and
presented in a logical manner.
CATEGORIES OF SOURCES

 1. DOCUMENTS
 2. NUMERICAL RECORDS
 3. ORAL STATEMENT
 4. RELICS
How to write a synthesis
 1. Consider your purpose in writing
 2. Select and read carefully your
sources according to your purpose
 3. Formulate a thesis, it is the main
ideas that you want to present in your
synthesis
 4. Decide how you will use your
source material and take down notes
 5. Develop an organization at
plan according to your thesis
 6. Write the first draft of your
synthesis, following your
organizational plan
 7. Revise your synthesis
What is COHERENCE?
 Coherence direct to a well-
organized and unified piece of
writing.
 It also refers on how well a
manuscript holds together as a
unified document.
Transitional expressions and
other kinds of rhetorical
markers also help to identify
the connection amomg the
different sections as " in the
next example " or " in a related
study", the most recent finding
in the study.
Use "First, Second, and Third"
at the beginning of your
Guideline 1: If your review is
long, provide an overview near
the beginning of the review.

Guideline 2: Near the beginning

of a review, state explicity what
will and will not be covered.
 Guideline3: Specify your
point of view early in the
review.

 Guideline
4: Aim for a clear
and cohesive essay; avoid
annotations.
 Guideline
5: Use
subheadings, especially in
long reviews.

 Guideline6: Use transitions

to help trace your
argument.
 Guideline 7: If your topic
reaches across disciplines,
consider reviewing studies
from each discipline
separately.
 Guideline 8: Write a
conclusion for the end part
of the review.
 Guideline 9: Check the flow
What is ETHICS?
 Ethics is a system of moral principles
by which human actions and
proposals may be judged good or
bad, right or wrong
Ethical standard
- The principles that when followed,
promote value such a trust, good
behavior, fairness, and/or kindness
 Some of the reason forwarded;
 1. Norms promote the aims of
research such as knowledge,
truth and avoidance error.
 2. Norms promote the value
that are essential to
collabotative work such as
trust, accountability, mutual
respect and fairness.

 3.Norms also protect the
intellectual property interest
and encourage confidentiality
even in collaboration
WHAT IS CONCLUSION?
 A Conclusion is the last paragraph in your
research paper, or the last part in any other
type of presentation.
 A well written conclusion provides you
with important opportunities to
demonstrate to the reader your
understanding of the research problem
 1. Presenting the last word on the
issues you raised in your paper.
 2. Summarizing your thoughts
and conveying the larger
significance of your study.
 3. Identifying how a gap in the
literature has been addressed.
 4. Demonstrating the importance
of your ideas.
 5. Introducing possible new or
expanded ways of thinking about
the research problem.
 When writing the conclusion to your
paper, follow these general rules.
• State your conclusions in clear, and
simple language.
• Do not simply reiterate your results
or the discussions of your results.
•Indicate opportunities for future
research if you haven’t already done
so in the discussion section of your
paper.
Recommendation
 as a critical suggestion
regarding the best course of
action in a certain situation.
 to provide a beneficial guide
that will not only resolve
certain issues, but result in a
beneficial outcome.
GUIDELINES IN WRITING THE
RECOMMENDATION

1. It should have the aim and

effort to solve problems in
the study.
2. It should aim for the ideal
but they must be feasible,
practical, and attainable. It is
useless to recommend