Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University

Southern La Union Campus

GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

Course Title: Advanced Research Methods/Methods of Research

Course Code: SSR 391/EDF 202
Discussant: Renato Espinoza Salcedo

WRITING THE RESEARCH REPORT

I. Getting Started in Writing the Research Report
A. Plan the report
B. Know the purpose of the report
C. Know the audience of the report
1. Questions to be taken into account in knowing the audience
a. Are all readers alike?
b. What do they already know about the subject?
c. What do they need to know?
d. What are their attitudes to the subject, to the writer, and to the writers objectives?
2. Four Categories of Audience
a. academic/research community
b. sponsors of research undertakings
c. policy makers
d. the general public, especially the beneficiaries of the programs, projects, services
arising from your study
D. Manage your time in writing the report
E. Writing the Report
II. The Academic Thesis and Dissertation
A. Definition
A dissertation (also called thesis or disquisition) is a document that
presents the author's research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature
for a degree or professional qualification. The word "thesis" comes from the Greek ,
meaning "position", and refers to an intellectual proposition. "Dissertation" comes from
the Latin dissertti, meaning "discourse." The word thesis is utilised as part of a
Bachelors or Masters course, dissertation is normally applied to a doctorate degree.
(wikipedia.com)
B. Objectives of theses and dissertations
o to marshal all the relevant information that relates to the topic or problem, and to
support all data and arguments with sources of evidence
o to carry out empirical work that has not been done before
o to use already known material but with a new interpretation
o to replicate a study that has been done in another country or context
o to bring new evidence to bear an old issue
III. Content of the Thesis/Dissertation (DMMMSU General Format)

Preliminaries
Title Page
Approval Sheet
Biographical Sketch
Acknowledgement
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
Abstract
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION
Situation Analysis
Conceptual/Theoretical Framework
Statement of the Problem
Hypotheses of the Study
Significance of the Study
Definition of Terms
Chapter 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Related Literature
Related Studies
Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Population and Sample
Instrumentation
Validation of Instruments
Treatment of Data
Chapter 4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Chapter 5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Conclusion
Recommendations
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES
A. Title Page
o the title should be both short (generally 15 words or less) and descriptive of your study
o the title should indicate the key variables in the study
o avoid trite and wasteful phrases such as "A study of ..." or "An investigation to
determine ..."
o the title should be presented in an inverted pyramid form and should be in single space
o the title page includes the title of the study, name of the researcher, institution, a
statement of fulfilling requirements for the degree sought, and month and year of
graduation.
o the title page is the first page of the manuscript. It is considered page i, but the number
must not appear on the page
o the complete title should appear in ALL CAPS
B. Approval Sheet
o the approval sheet includes the a statement that the research of the author has been
examined and approved by the undersigned members of the Oral Examination
Committee

For the Ph.D. programs, the Oral Examination Committee must have six (6) members; for
the MA/MS programs, five members

C. Biographical Sketch
o this section presents the personal profile of the author of the study
o it must be written in the third person and could include the following information: place
of birth, place of high school graduation, place and date of college graduation with
degree(s) and major(s), professional or employment experience, scholarly publications,
and memberships in professional societies.
D. Acknowledgement
o this page is for the author to express professional and/or personal indebtedness. It is
good to acknowledge the people who helped or participated in direct or indirect way to
your thesis/dissertation.
o the researcher must be consistent with the use of the third ("the author") or first person
throughout

E. Dedication
o serves as the section wherein the author can present to the readers to whom is he
dedicating the study
F. Table of Contents
o this section is basically a topic outline of the study. It gives the reader an overview of
o the major topics covered by the study.
o it functions as an index to the work and must fully and accurately reflect the
organization of the information contained in the study
o major headings, sub-headings, and page numbers must be included
o the table of contents does not only provide a guide to finding sections but also to help
describe the contents of the study
G. List of Tables
o this preliminary section enumerates the tables contained in the study
H. List of Figures
o this section lists the figures presented in the study
o a List of Tables/Figures is necessary even if there is only one table/figure
I. Abstract
o the abstract contains the authors name, month and year of graduation, degree,
institution and its address, and the title of the research and the name of the adviser;
o the body of the abstract contains the research focus (i.e. statement of the
problem(s)/research issue(s) addressed); the research methods used (experimental
research, case studies, questionnaires, etc.); the salient results/findings of the
research; and the main conclusions and recommendations
o the abstract should have a maximum of 1,000 words or 3 pages
o it should be in a narrative style and must not contain separate headings
o the abstract serves two major purposes: it helps a person decide whether to read the
paper, and it provides the reader with a framework for understanding the paper if they
decide to read it
o formulas, diagrams or other illustrations are not included in the abstract
o an abstract should not add any new information but should simply summarize the
o thesis/dissertation

o
o

in addition, abstracts help other researchers decide which papers might be relevant to
their respective studies
a researcher must write his abstract with an abundance of caution since it is usually the
only part of the study read by some researchers and in most universities in the
Philippines, the only part of a thesis/dissertation that can be photocopied

J. Situation Analysis
o presents a birds-eye view of what readers would be expecting from your study
o this section discusses the general context under which a research problem is to be
studied
o it presents the circumstances on why a researcher decided to undertake the research
o it also acts as an introduction about the topic of your research
K. Research Framework
o this section presents the theoretical and conceptual basis of a study showing linkages
and meaning of the relationship of the different variables
o theoretical frameworks are a type of intermediate theory that have the potential to
connect to all aspects of inquiry (e.g., problem definition, purpose, literature review,
methodology, data collection and analysis). Conceptual and theoretical frameworks act
like maps that give coherence to empirical inquiry
o a conceptual framework is based on generally accepted methods, practices, etc.
L. Research Paradigm
o A model that seeks to illustrate the relationship of the key variables in the study, the flow
of the research, and the processes that a study have undergone
M. Statement of the Problem
o the part of the study which comprehensively enumerates the problems to be tackled
in the study
o the statement of the problem should be in question form
N. Hypotheses of the Study
o the section that presents the assumptions of the study based on the problems
o the hypotheses of the study is usually in the null form
O. Importance of the Study
o this section of the study answers why there is a need for the research and who will
benefit
o applied and scientific contributions are usually discussed
o the significance is addressed by discussing how the study adds to the theoretical body of
knowledge in the field and the study's practical significance for communication
professionals in the field being examined.
o Ph.D. students also must explain how their research makes an original contribution to
the body of knowledge in their discipline.
P. Definition of Terms
o this section of the study provides a list of terms that are defined operationally (how
it
was used in the study)
o its purpose would be to clarify certain terms used in the study which might not be easily
understood by some readers
o make citations if necessary e.g. (Aquino, 2007)

Q. Related Literature and Related Studies

o to prove the originality and value of the study, a researcher must present a thorough
review of the existing literature on the subject, and on closely related subjects
o the literature review shows how a research builds on prior knowledge by presenting and
evaluating what is already known about the research problem
o the goal of the literature review is to demonstrate "the logical continuity between
previous and present work"
o this does not mean that a researcher would provide an exhaustive historical review.
Analyze the relationships among the related studies instead of presenting a series of
seemingly unrelated abstracts or annotations
o this chapter should not merely string together what other researchers have found.
Rather a researcher should discuss and analyze the body of knowledge with the ultimate
goal of determining what is known and is not known about the topic
R. Research Design
o the design of the study, whether it is a case study, a survey, a controlled experiment, a
meta-analysis, or some other type of research, is conveyed through this section
o Chapter 3 chapter describes and justifies the data gathering method used. This chapter
also outlines how you analyzed your data.
o the writing of this chapter should begin with the description of the research method that
the researcher chose and an explanation on why this method was the most appropriate.
In doing so, the researcher should cite reference literature about the method.
S. Population and Sample
o this subsection of Chapter 3 describes the sample with a sufficient detail so that it is
clear what population(s) the sample represents
o it also presents a description of population and description of and justification for type of
sample used or method for selecting units of observation
T. Instrumentation
o a description of your instruments, including all surveys, tests, questionnaires, interview
forms, and other tools used to provide data is presented in this section
o it describes and justifies the data gathering method used as well as the development of
instrument or method for making observations (e.g., question guide, categories for
content analysis) and the administration of instrument or method for making
observations (e.g., interviews, observation, content analysis)
U. Validation of Instruments
o this is the part of the study where evidence of reliability and validity of the instrument/s
is presented
V. Treatment of Data
o this part of the study provides a description of data analysis and what were the
statistical tools/formulae utilized in analyzing the collected data
W. Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data
o this section is where the researcher reports on the findings of his study with its analysis
and interpretation
o this section may be in the form of descriptive text, tables, and figures
o in the discussion of the findings, the researcher is the expert on his data set and an
authority on the problem he is addressing
o in this section, the researcher discusses and interprets the data for the reader by telling
the reader the implications of the findings

Furthermore, a researcher must return to the specific problem he investigated and relate
his findings to those of previous studies presented in the literature review and the
research frameworks, by explaining relationships and supporting or disagreeing with
what others have found. He can also draw his conclusions.

X. Summary
o covers the highlights of the research or the major points raised. It provides a quick tour
of the findings of the study
Y. Conclusions
o this section provide the interconnections of the findings of the study. Conclusions are
short, concise statements of the inferences that you have made because of your work.
o it should highlight the key results from the research work and should derive the
important facts out of your study and the results that you obtained.
Z. Recommendations
o indicates the practical and even theoretical contributions of the study
o the recommendations should flow logically from the findings of the study
o a researcher can provide specific directions to policy makers and implementors regarding
the measures or approaches that can be adopted or improved to correct problems
encountered in the study
o suggestions for future research can also be included
o recommendations are usually presented in a concise format, so the use of a list is
appropriate
AA. Bibliography
o this section covers the different materials (e.g., books, journals, monographs, public
documents, theses, dissertations, websites etc.) used as references in the study
o

an author can use a specific style but must be consistent in using the style he prefers

the full publication information of all sources cited in the manuscript should be provided

AB. Appendices
o the appendices include materials that are too cumbersome to read in the body of the
paper but are useful references for readers
o the appendices contain material that is pertinent to the text, but not directly included
(raw data, lengthy mathematical proofs or derivations, questionnaires and other data
collection instruments, consent forms, policy statements etc.).

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