Nature and Process of Research

THE NATURE AND PROCESS
OF RESEARCH
S A N B E D A C O L L E G E - M A N I L A
I N T E G R A T E D B A S I C E D U C A T I O N D E P A R T M E N T
S E N I O R H I G H S C H O O L

Define the following terms:
1. Research
2. Sources
3. Library
4. Internet
5. Qualitative Data
6. Quantitative Data
7. Bibliography
8. Plagiarism
9. Citation

MANY STUDENTS SHARE COMMON IDEA
ABOUT THE TASK OF WRITING A RESEARCH
PAPER:
- CHOOSE A TOPIC
- DO RESEARCH ON THE TOPIC
- WRITE AN ESSAY BASED ON YOUR RESEARCH

Yet the comments from the professor may be disappointing:
"No research question"
“Too general" or "Not sufficiently narrow"
"Improper use of sources"
"Much of this material appears to be plagiarized"
"Inadequate bibliography"
"No journal articles"

Topic Selection
Most topics you start with are too broad to be
useful research papers.
If you leave a topic broad, it will be superficial.

Consider this illustration:
If your topic is narrow, you can deal with it in depth. If your
topic is broad, you will deal with it only in a shallow way.
Instead, focus on a narrow topic so you can deal with it in
depth.

For example, instead of writing a history of the
development of industrialization in Korea…
Narrow the topic to: "The effect of the Asian
financial crisis of the late 1990s on automobile
manufacturing in Korea."

The Thesis Statement
One sentence that summarizes what your paper is
about, or what you are trying to prove. (Last sentence
of your introduction)

The Research Question
A research essay is intended to allow you to
answer a question or controversy related
to the topic you are studying.

How can a student develop a proper research
question?
 Narrow your topic.
 Use reference sources or portions of books to discover aspects of the
topic that are controversial or need investigation.
 Develop a few possible research questions based on what you find in
reference sources. These should be one sentence questions that are
simple and clear.
 Choose one of these questions to be the research question for your
essay.

 Example:
 Broad Topic: "The history of industrial development in
Korea."
 Narrow Topic: "The history of the automobile industry in
Korea during the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s."
 Research Question: “What are the advantages and
disadvantages of the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s to
the automobile industry in Korea?”

Example:
Broad Topic: "Constantine" (Roman emperor of the 300s
AD)
Narrow Topic: "The Conversion of Constantine."
Research Question: “What are the evidences of
Constantine's conversion that could equate its
authenticity?"

 Example:
 Broad Topic: "Euthanasia" (helping very ill people to end
their lives)
 Narrow Topic: "Euthanasia in the Netherlands."
 Research Question: "What evidence is there, if any, from
the Netherlands that legalizing euthanasia causes a society
to value human life less?”

Introduction/Background
 Establish the general territory (real world or research).
 Describe the broad foundations of your study—provide sufficient background for
readers.
 Indicate the general scope of your project.
 Provide an overview of the sections that will appear in your proposal (optional).
 Engage the readers.

Statement of the Problem
 Answer the question: “What is the gap that needs to be filled?” and/or
“What is the problem that needs to be solved?”
 State the problem clearly early in a paragraph.
 Limit the variables you address in stating your problem or question.
 Consider framing the problem as a question.

Significance of the Study
 Discuss the methodological, substantive, and/or theoretical contribution.
 State the practical and/or theoretical importance of the problem and/or
objectives of your study.
 Explain the usefulness or benefits of the study to both the outside world and
the research community.

Review of Related Literature
 How other scholars have written about your topic.
 The range of theories used to analyze materials or data
 How other scholars connect their specific research topics to larger
issues, questions, or practices within the field.
 The best methodologies and research techniques for your particular
topic.

Bibliography
 Contains all the sources that are used in doing the study.
 Must be presented in APA format.


Should you Use the Words of Others or Your
Own Words?
 Some students get confused about what the teacher wants.
You are to do research, but if you simply copy information
the books and articles, you are committing plagiarism.
If you use only your own ideas, then you are not doing
research that uses other people’s writing.

Your teacher does want you to read the books and
articles of other people. The research essay is
supposed to make use of that research to present your
own analysis and arguments.
But how can a student use the work of others
if he/she is not allowed to quote their work?
You are allowed to quote from the things you
have read, but there are definite rules for
doing this:


The quotations should be short (usually 5 lines or less) and few.
My own suggestion is to have no more than one short quotation
per page of your essay.
 Quotations must have quotation marks (" ") around them or be
put in an indented block (for longer quotations) to make it clear
that they are quotations.

All quotations must have a note (footnote, endnote, or short
note) attached to them so that it’s very clear what source you are
quoting. Every item quoted must also be in your bibliography.
 You cannot just quote long paragraphs without using quotation
marks and then adding a citation, footnote or endnote indicating
what source you used.

Most of your work is to be in your own words.
This means:
 That you show you have understood what you are reading by
interpreting it in your own words.
 That you are not just paraphrasing. Paraphrasing involves
rewriting each sentence of something you have read, changing
the wording a little bit. This is not enough to make the material
"your own words.“
 That you show that you can interpret what the writer is saying
without needing to use many of the writer’s words.

To avoid plagiarism, do not try to rewrite an author’s sentences in your
own words. You will almost always use too many of that author’s words.
Instead, read the author’s words and interpret what they mean. Then
write down your interpretation.
The teacher is mainly interested in seeing how well YOU have
understood the material. Teachers do not want you simply to
repeat what you’ve read but to interpret what you’ve read,
expressing your own understanding in your own words.
But what if other writers have already expressed their thoughts in
better ways than you could ever use? Why not just copy their words?
Because that would be plagiarism.

S A N B E D A C O L L E G E - M A N I L A
I N T E G R A T E D B A S I C E D U C A T I O N D E P A R T M E N T
S E N I O R H I G H S C H O O L
PLAGIARISM

PLAGIARISM
 PLAGIARISM IS BOTH CONSCIOUSLY AND
UNCONSCIOUSLY COPYING SOMEONE’S WORK
AND CLAIMING THE COPY AS YOUR OWN
WITHOUT DUE CITATION.
 IT IS CONSIDERED AS A FORM OF
DISHONESTYAND RAISES THE ISSUE OF
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.
 IT IS A SERIOUS OFFEND THAT CAN SUSPEND
AND EVEN EXPEL THE OFFENDER.

PLAGIARISM
 THIS MEANS THAT PLAGIARISM IS FRAUD – PRETENDING
THAT THE WORDS OR IDEAS IN YOUR RESEARCH PAPER
ARE YOURS, WHEN THEY ACTUALLY CAME FROM
SOMEONE ELSE.
 QUOTING FROM A BOOK OR ARTICLE OR WEB SITE
WITHOUT USING QUOTATION MARKS AND A NOTE TO
TELL THE READER WHO WROTE THE QUOTED MATERIAL.
 PRESENTING AN IDEA AS IF YOU WERE THE ONE WHO
THOUGHT OF IT, WHEN YOU ACTUALLY GOT THAT IDEA
FROM A BOOK OR ARTICLE OR WEB SITE (THE EXCEPTION
IS WHEN THAT IDEA IS PART OF COMMON KNOWLEDGE
FOUND IN MANY PIECES OF WRITING).

WHY IS PLAGIARISM SO SERIOUS A
PROBLEM?

 THE GOAL OF THE RESEARCH ESSAY IS NOT TO GATHER
INFORMATION AND REPORT ON IT. RESEARCH ESSAYS ARE
ASSIGNED SO THAT YOU CAN STUDY A CERTAIN TOPIC,
DEVELOP A RESEARCH QUESTION, AND ANSWER IT USING
THE MATERIALS YOU HAVE STUDIED PLUS YOUR OWN
ANALYSIS.
 YOUR TEACHER WANTS TO SEE THAT YOU ARE THINKING
THROUGH AN ISSUE, NOT SIMPLY EXPLAINING OR QUOTING
WHAT YOU HAVE READ.
 THE INFORMATION YOU DISCOVER IN YOUR RESEARCH IS
THUS ONLY THE FOUNDATION, THE FIRST PART, OF THE
TASK. WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT IS YOUR ABILITY TO USE
THAT INFORMATION TO ADVANCE THE WORLD’S
KNOWLEDGE.

THE COMMON TYPE OF
PLAGIARISM
A. DIRECT PLAGIARISM
B. SELF-PLAGIARISM
C. MOSAIC PLAGIARISM
D. ACCIDENTAL PLAGIARISM

THE COMMON TYPE OF
PLAGIARISM
A. DIRECT PLAGIARISM
 Is a verbatim copying of any
part of your source material
to your own research paper,
without including quotation
marks, in-text citations, and a
bibliography

THE COMMON TYPE OF
PLAGIARISM
B. SELF-PLAGIARISM
 Is using your own previous
work, or the combination of the
words you used in your previous
works, and passing it to your
instructor as a new submission,
without the knowledge of all the
instructors involved in your
previous and current submissions.

THE COMMON TYPE OF
PLAGIARISM
C. MOSAIC PLAGIARISM
 is also known as “patch writing”.
The author attempts to paraphrase
a source into his/her own paper
but maintains the original syntax or
sentence structure. Quotes are
borrowed and some words are
only replaced with synonyms.

THE COMMON TYPE OF
PLAGIARISM
D. ACCIDENTAL PLAGIARISM
 Is done unintentionally . While
there is an attempt to paraphrase,
summarize, and quote, in-text
citation and bibliography are still
mainly forgotten usually due
to carelessness.

I. PLANNING YOUR RESEARCH
A. WORK ON A FAMILIAR SUBJECT
Why do you need to work on a familiar subject?
a. CONVENIENCE
b. YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR RESOURCES ARE
AND WHERE TO FIND THEM.
c. YOU ALREADY HAVE INSIGHTS AND
ASSUMPTIONS BEFOREHAND.
o YOU MAY START- FAMILY, PEERS, NEIGHBORHOOD,
SCHOOL, CITY, OR ANYHTING THAT YOU GREW UP
OR SPENT TIME WITH.

B. TRY SOMETHING NEW THAT SUITS
YOUR INTEREST
Why do need to align your research to your
personal interest?
a. RESEARCH ON SOMETHING THAT IS
BEYOND YOUR COMFORT ZONE.
b. GO FOR WHAT YOUR CURIOUSITY
LEADS YOU.
c. WHAT YOU WANT TO MAJOR AT IN
COLLEGE
o EXPLORE YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOWS, MOVIES,
CARTOONS, ANIME, COMICS, AND FAVORITE
AUTHORS.

C. BROWSE THROUGH AVAILABLE
RESEARCH MATERIALS
Why do you need to
browse all through the
available materials?
a. CHECK ON YOUR IMMEDIATE
SORROUNDINGS, LOCAL AND SCHOOL
LIBRARIES.
b. PLAN HOW TO CONTACT EXPERTS ON
YOUR CHOSEN TOPIC.
c. EXHAUST ALL THE POSSIBLE MEANS OF
GETTING SOURCES.
o CHECK ON THE INTERNET, NEWSPAPERS, AND
MAGAZINES.
Why do you need to
exhaust all means of
getting information?

II. FINDING PRIMARY SOURCES
A. OBSERVATIONS
Where can you
get primary
information?
a. ACTIVATE ALL YOUR SENSES WHEN
HOLDING OBSERVATIONS FOR YOUR
RESEARCH.
o YOU NEED: A NOTEBOOK AND A PEN
o REMEMBER TO: WRITE OBSERVATIONS
DESCRIPTIVELY AND OBJECTIVELY.
o DO NOT INCLUDE YOUPERSONAL BIASES,
JUDGEMENTS, AND PRESUMPTIONS.
As a researcher, why do you
need to set aside personal
judgements and biases?

III. FINDING SOURCES in the
LIBRARY
B. ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND DISIPLINARY
GUIDES
THESE BOOKS PROVIDE
GENERAL INFORMATION
AND OFFER THE MOST
IMPORTANT DETAIL TO
YOUR SUBJECT. THEY CAN
SERVE AS YOUR
SPRINGBOARD.

LIBRARY
C. BOOKS, PERIODICALS,
NEWSPAPERS, AND MAGAZINES
We want our paper to be credible.
These materials underwent
rigorous process of editing and
peer-reviewing before
publication.
 HIGHLY REPUTABLE
 CREDIBLE
Why do research advisers prefer more of these
materials as sources?

LIBRARY
C. FINDING SOURCES THROUGH
THE INTERNET
THERE ARE INSTANCES IN
WHICH BOOKS AND OTHER
PRINTED MATERIALS ARE
NOT ENOUGH OR
UNAVAILABLE. THE
INTERNET CAN
POTENTIALLY SAVE YOU.

LIBRARY
C. USING INTERNET SOURCES
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS.
HOWEVER, REMEMBER THAT NOT ALL THE
THINGS YOU SEE ONLINE ARE RELIABLE.
THINGS TO CHECK:
1. VIEW URL
 .com
 .org
 .edu
1. QUESTION THE AUTHOR
2. DETAILED INFORMATION, ACCURACY, AND
GRAMMAR
3. TIMELINESS

IV. MAKING A WORKING
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. USING INTERNET SOURCES
KEEP A LIST OF ALL THE SOURCES YOU USED.
JOT DOWN THE FOLLOWING:
1. TITLE OF THE BOOK
2. THE AUTHOR/S
3. PUBLISHING HOUSE
4. PUBLISHING YEAR
5. CHAPTER/S AND PAGE/S
What is the purpose of a working bibliography?

The APA Citation Guide
American Association of
Psychologists (APA) is the
citation guide most commonly used
in disciplines under social sciences
such as Anthropology, Archaeology,
History, and Sociology.
The title given to the bibliography page
using APA style is “References.”

A. Basic format for books
Murray, D.M (2005). What Does
America Stand For?

A. Basic format for books
Murray, D.M (2005). Write to Learn. 8th Edition. Boston,
Massachusetts. Thomson Wardsworth
B. Article in a Magazine
Bremmer, I. (2015, June 1). What Does America Stand For? Time, 16-21
C. Article in a Newspaper
Calica, A (2015, June 7). Noy willing to study Cha-cha proposal. The
Philippine Star, pp. A-1, A-10.

D. Article from an online periodical
Weisman, J (2015, June 12). Obama’s Trade Bills Face Tough
Battle Against House Democrats. The New York Times. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/us/politics/obamas-
trade-bills-face-tough-battle-against-house
democrats/html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=fir
st-colum-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news*_r=0

PARAPHRASING,
SUMMARIZING AND QUOTING
Paraphrasing is taking one whole paragraph into
consideration and rewriting all of it using your own
words.
Summarizing only calls for the gist of the resource
material.
Quoting it is the acknowledgement of any idea taken from
another source by placing selected passages inside
quotation marks [“...”].

Nature and Process of Research

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