Republic of the Philippines

EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Graduate School
Tacloban City

for the Research Seminar with the theme: Empowering Graduate

Students through Research”

Submitted to:

BRYAN H. GERVACIO, Ph.D.

Professor

Prepared by: MARIA THERESA M. HERBOLINGO, LPT, RPm MAED Guidance & Counseling Page 1
 Republic of the Philippines
EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Graduate School
Tacloban City

SUMMARY
Crucial information about writing a thesis proposal was appropriately discussed
during the slide deck presentation of the expert resource person, Professor Las
Johansen B. Caluza, Ph.D., FRI-IT during the Research Seminar-Workshop. Let me
highlight such in the following narration.

A thesis proposal is a persuasive writing that is done to convince the reader to do

something. The goal of the researcher is not only to persuade but also to make the
reader believe that you are writing a worthy and practical proposal. It is a document that
outlines the thesis topic, defines the issues that the thesis will address, and explains
why the topic warrants further research. It should identify a problem and provide a
proposed solution to that problem.

Also, it was highlighted that the Introduction must have sufficient evidence that
there is really a necessity to conduct the study. It is the introduction where the
researcher can establish his/her territory and establish a niche.

The thesis statement according to the discussion is most likely located at the last
paragraph of the introduction. It was conceptualized as the main idea, it is the
researching argument about the phenomenon and the researcher’s comment about
his/her position in relation to the topic.

Meanwhile, the Framework of the study is subdivided into the theoretical

framework is composed of the Macro theory, mezzo theory and micro theory. A
question was also posted relevant to the chances that a study does and does not need
a conceptual framework which provided as the answer that only quantitative and mixed
method requires such and it is no longer visible in qualitative research. Although there
are instances that such is needed in qualitative studies. In writing the framework, we
dwell with the Macro theory first, then the mezzo theory and the micro theory after.

The participants were also given an important discussion on the important

concepts in formulating good qualitative research questions which are: 1.) Being able to
discover problems and opportunities; 2.) Open-ended in nature; and 3.) Easy to
understand and can be comprehended with no need for clarification. On the other hand,
there are three main types of questions that a researcher can ask when writing a
quantitative study. They are: Causal, descriptive and predictive.

Prepared by: MARIA THERESA M. HERBOLINGO, LPT, RPm MAED Guidance & Counseling Page 2
 Republic of the Philippines
EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Graduate School
Tacloban City

SUMMARY continued

Insights about writing the theoretical review were presented as we have moved
forward in the discussion. The literature review demonstrates one’s knowledge of the
research problem. It demonstrates the research understanding, shows the researcher’s
ability to critically evaluate relevant literature information. It is formulating the literature
review that the researcher’s ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literatures is
tested. Researcher must read at least ten (10) articles in order to evaluate the gap of
information and gap of knowledge relevant to the core issue of the study.

Lastly, the methodology is really the heart of the research. It was also clearly
specified during the seminar that the sample of a qualitative study should be addressed
as participants while they are considered respondents in quantitative study because
they are basically a representation from the population that we are deriving
generalizations.

INSIGHTS FROM THE TRAINING:

First, I am delighted that we were able to invite a very reliable and experienced
resource person during the training. Dr. Las was not only knowledgeable about
research but most importantly he is well experienced in the field. I am as well amazed
and inspired by his achievements in the field of research. It is astonishing to know that a
man as young as he is has already acquired so many milestones in research,
technology and innovation.

The challenge of our writing journey becomes less intricate as we become more
inspired by this successful personality in the field. I have as well become more
encourage in advancing my skills in doing research when hopefully I arrive successful in
this endeavor. I wish to pursue a doctoral degree wherein I can be more equipped in
writing researches, perhaps a Ph.D. in Social Science Research. I am praying for God’s
permission my sincere intention in the specialization.

Prepared by: MARIA THERESA M. HERBOLINGO, LPT, RPm MAED Guidance & Counseling Page 3
 Republic of the Philippines
EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Graduate School
Tacloban City

INSIGHTS FROM THE TRAINING (Continued):

Moreover, I have already my Introduction to Methodology of my research writing
during the conduct of the training. However, I know I still need so many revisions to
make for improvement prior the mock defense. The insights given to us by Sir Las
during the seminar were truly noteworthy in my need for development of paper.

All throughout my writing, I think writing the Related Literature and framing the
research questions were the most difficult.

Now, I have known that is no "one best way" to structure a quantitative research
question. However, I have deduced from the discussion of sir Las that in order to create
a well-structured quantitative research question, I must follow the following steps: (1)
Choosing the type of quantitative research question you are trying to create will it be
descriptive, comparative or relationship-based; (2) Identify the different types of
variables you are trying to measure, manipulate and/or control, as well as any groups
you may be interested in; (3) Select the appropriate structure for the chosen type of
quantitative research question, based on the variables and/or groups involved; and (4)
Write out the problem or issues you are trying to address in the form of a complete
research question. With all these idea in formulating my research questions, I can know
employ a good revision on my research questions.

Also, I have realized that in making the my stand or position on the introduction I
must read more than ten (10) articles in order to make a good writing as I convince my
readers that there is really a need to conduct my study since suicide among teenagers
and across the lifespan has been one of the latest issues in our society nowadays.

Another important thing that is necessary for me to improve my evaluation of

Related Literature and studies is to identify the Research Information and Research
Gap relevant to my topic. Researchers like me who are pursuing Master’s or PhD often
find it difficult to identify the gaps in the body of knowledge in their own chosen fields.

Prepared by: MARIA THERESA M. HERBOLINGO, LPT, RPm MAED Guidance & Counseling Page 4
 Republic of the Philippines
EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Graduate School
Tacloban City

INSIGHTS FROM THE TRAINING (Continued):

Indeed, identifying gaps and generating research questions can be regarded as
the first and most important step in writing a research paper. There are might be legions
of approaches for overcoming this difficulty however finding original and innovative
topics and distinguishing gaps in the literature is never an easy feat.

The way I understand the discussion during the seminar the easiest way would to
identify the gap is to read specific parts of the articles in your field of study. There could
be hundreds of article relevant to your research but you have to find the most suitable
ones by measuring their value and finding out how influential they are to the study. After
finding the most suitable articles you should examine the parts which include
“introduction” section, which always has a sentence or two about the reasons why
that research is done; “conclusion” section and of course “suggestions for future
research” section in which the author of the article, having examined the literature and
conducted a research himself, would point his readers to areas which lack investigation
or need closer examination. Another approach is to read systematic reviews. These
papers dwell deep into the literature and examine the trends and changes in a discipline
or specific field of study and provide summaries of the literature which can in some
cases save a lot of research time. Moreover, content analysis reports, citation analysis
reports and meta-analysis reports can be very illuminating and helpful, especially the
later which reports the findings of the previous researches.

Lastly, I am actually anticipating a thorough discussion in the methodology from

sir Las but perhaps because we lack the time he wasn’t able to elaborate on statistical
treatment that can be utilized for studies particularly in my study which considers too
many factors in identifying the causes of suicidal ideation among teens. Above all,
everything I have learnt from the training was noteworthy. It will be very essential to
improve my thesis proposal.

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