LESSON 2:

RESEARCH TOPIC and

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Ma. Lourdes G. Olegario
Instructor
 Four Questions:

1. Is the subject worth investigating?

2. Are there enough materials available?
3. Is it manageable within the set of
limitations?
4. Is it interesting enough to sustain all the
efforts and sacrifices required by the work?
 Narrow down your chosen topic:

Example
Broad topic: Genetic Engineering
Still broad: Genetic Engineering Cloning
Less broad: Genetic Eng'g Cloning Animals
Limited: Genetic Eng'g Cloning Animals Benefits
When your research topic is too broad, ask
yourself these questions:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
Let’s see how this works with an example:
eating disorders

This topic is too broad (general) to write

about in a short paper. We need to make
it narrower (more specific).
 Who?
(Who will you focus on?)

Topic: Eating Disorders

Population: Age, Gender, Race, Ethnicity

New Topic: Eating disorders in elderly females

 What?
(Identify the important issues about your topic)

Topic: Eating Disorders

Types of Eating Disorders:
Anorexia, Bulimia, Compulsive Eating

New Topic: Anorexia in elderly females

 When?
(When did the situation/event start?)

Topic: Eating Disorders

Time Frame: current or historical view
period of life

New Topic: Anorexia in middle-aged females

 Where?
(Where is the topic relevant?)

Topic: Eating Disorders

Places in the Philippines:
urban rural province city

New Topic: Anorexia in middle-aged females

in the Philippine rural areas
 Why?
(Why do you want to research on it?)

Topic: Eating Disorders

To evaluate:
Causes Treatment Effects
New Topic: Successful methods for treatment
of Anorexia in middle-aged females in the
Philippine rural areas
 Other examples of narrowed-down topics
AB ENGLISH: Facebook
Who? FB users
What? language choice
When? current
Where? Manila
Why? influences of language choice
when posting status updates
PSYCHOLOGY: Facial attractiveness
Who? male and female students
What? perceptions
When? current
Where? National University
Why? gender differences in
perceptions about facial attractiveness
ACCOUNTANCY: Motivation
Who? 2nd year and 3rd year Accountancy
students
What? motivation to study / social economic
status / parental expectation
When? current
Where? National University
Why? relationship of motivation, social status,
and parental expectation of accountancy students to
study Accountancy
SWM: smoking and alcohol use
Who? male and female student-
athletes/regular students
What? patterns of behavior
When? current
Where? National University
Why? differences in patterns of behavior
involving smoking and alcohol use among
student-athletes and regular students of NU
PHARMACY: generic medicines
Who? people with science education and
lay people
What? choice between generic and
branded medicines
When? current / middle-aged
Where? rural - Bulacan
Why? factors / influences on choice between
generic and branded medicines of people
with science background and lay people
Research Questions
 Good research questions are:

• Answerable
• Narrow enough to be covered sufficiently in
the required number of pages
• Broad enough that you can actually find
information
• Abstract enough to require analysis
 Bad research questions are:

• Trivia questions
• Answerable by a quick Yes or No
• Answerable by a 5-minute search on
Google
• Asking for an opinion that cannot be
supported
 Topic Possible Follow-up Research
Questions

Influences of language What are the factors that influence

choice when posting language choice when posting status
status updates updates in social media?

gender differences in 1. What, if any, differences are there

perceptions about facial between the responses of male and
attractiveness female in relation to perceptions of
facial attractiveness?
2. Why are there differences in the
perception of facial attractiveness
between male and female?
 Topic
Study motives, career choices
and interest in
pediatric dentistry among final
year dental
students in Nigeria
Differences between teaching
styles and long quiz score of
students
Possible Follow-up Research Questions
1. What motivates dental students to
specialize in pediatric dentistry?
2. What are the factors that motivate students
to consider pediatric dentistry as a possible
career path?
1. Is there a significant relationship between
teaching style and long quiz score of
students?
2. Is there a significant association between
the student’s long quiz score and the
teacher’s age, gender, and training attended?
3. Is there a relationship between the long
quiz score and the number of hours
devoted by students in studying their
lessons?
 Identifying the
Research Variables
 Variables
• Variables are properties or characteristics of people
or things that vary in quality or magnitude from
person to person or object to object (Miller &
Nicholson, 1976)
• Demographic characteristics
• Personality traits
• Communication styles or competencies
• Constructs
• in order to be a variable, a variable must vary
(e.g., not be a constant), that is, it must take on
different values, levels, intensities, or states
 Dependent / Independent Variable

DEPENDENT VARIABLES - the

variable a researcher is interested in and what
the researcher is going to measure
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES-the
variable believed to affect the dependent variable and
the variable that can be manipulated to see if it makes
the dependent variable change
Independent Variable Dependent
Variable
• Intentionally • Intentionally left-
manipulated alone
• Controlled • Measured
• Vary at common rate • Vary at unknown rate
• Cause • Effect
 Example 1:
• how marital problems, financial problems,
and self-image cause anorexia among middle-
aged women
Dependent variable/s – anorexia among
middle-aged women
left-alone, effect

Independent variable/s – marital problems,

financial problems, self-image
controlled, cause
 Example 2:
• the effects of the new educational programs
on student achievements
Dependent variable/s – measures of
achievement (increase in grades, passing rate)
left alone, effects
Independent variable/s – educational
programs
controlled, cause
 Example 3:
• how social class and motivation affect
language use
Dependent variable/s – language use
left alone, effects
Independent variable/s – social class and
motivation
controlled, cause
Let's practice:
Identify the independent variable and
the dependent variable
1. In a study to determine whether how long a student
sleeps affects test scores
independent variable? how long a student sleeps

dependent variable? test scores

2. to compare brands of paper towels, to see which
holds the most liquid
independent variable brands of paper towel

dependent variable
the amount of liquid
absorbed by a paper towel
 Assignment for submission next meeting

• Fill up the Research Proposal form

• Go to the library and list at least 10 research
articles which you can use as your references for
your own research
• Use ProQuest to look for references
• Your references must not be later than 2013
END OF LESSON 2