this serves as a basis to anyone who could acess to.

1. Building the foundations of your
research/thesis proposal –
and your research career

2. Steps:
1. Decide on a particular area of research in your discipline
as your focus (research niche-ing/ specialization)
- What is it that really interests you?
2. Search and accumulate all available VALID literature on
the topic. Build your own ‘library’ on this. Get hold of
review articles if available.
3. Immerse yourself in the literature on the topic area and
in so doing become an ‘expert’ in this.

3. ■ Familiarize yourself with the key authors/ researchers,
articles, journals
■ Know the schools of thoughts (if any), the main tenets,
their claims, even their weaknesses, criticisms
■ Identify the issues being discussed, the areas of debate,
the gaps, controversies, new trends, ‘cutting-edge’ areas
4. List down possible project titles and draw up a long-term
research program

4. 5. Work on the most viable project title for your
thesis/dissertation proposal (basis: available literature)
6. After thesis/dissertation, work on the other projects
identified. On the basis of the research program and
specific topics lined-up, look for research collaborators
(co-faculty, students, etc.)
7. Make your research count: Publish in refereed journals.
BON VOYAGE!

5. Framing a research-worthy problem

6. Why Problem-Based Research?
■ a research without a clearly defined problem
is flawed
■ a clear, precise, and well-structured problem
statement leads to quality research
■ the research problem will indicate whether
the research has an impact or not
■ impact: on future research and other
researchers

7. The Role of the Problem in the Structure of the
Research
■ starting point for the research and a unifying
thread that runs through all the elements of the
research endeavor
■ basis for the interrelatedness of the distinct
elements in research
■ basis for assessing appropriateness/alignment of
other elements: methodology, results,
conclusion

9. The Topic, Research Problem, Goals, and Research
Questions
■ Topic: research area
■ Research problem: something that is “going wrong”
in an existing research area, to be identified by
researcher
■ Research goal: what the study intends to do to address
the identified problem
■ Research question/s: operationalize/s the research
goal into one or two research questions
– What questions are posed in order to carry out the
goal of the study?

11. ■ Research methodology: steps to be taken in order
to derive reliable and valid answers to the questions
raised, or the general approach taken to carry out
the research project – descriptive (case study),
empirical/quantitative, qualitative, mixed,
experimental, quasi-experimental, simulations
■ Research tools: specific mechanisms or strategy
used to collect, manipulate, or interpret data
■ Results: the data or evidences that can be used to
answer the research question/s; these leads to the
conclusion

12. Research contribution to the body of knowledge (BoK)?
■ new information and/or data -
§ Establishing causal relationships by conducting a causal-
comparative study to address a documented problem
§ Evaluating the efficacy of an approach to addressing a
documented problem by conducting an experimental or
quasi-experimental study
§ Examining the impact of the element of time on the
nature of the documented problem in a longitudinal
study

13. § Exploring in depth the positive and negative aspects of
an approach to address the documented problem in a
descriptive study
§ Establishing a method for creating a product that could
at least potentially reduce the impact of the
documented problem through a developmental study
§ Developing constructs from a pool of observations
regarding the causes or characteristics of a well-
documented problem through a factor analysis
§ Developing a predictive model in an approach to address
a documented problem

14. Research-Worthiness?
■ Preconditions to making an original contribution to the
BoK:
§ An exhaustive understanding of the BoK related to the
field or topic of study. Knowledge of what is known is a
prerequisite for identifying that which is unknown
§ A solid conceptual foundation for the research. Research-
worthiness entails that there is a real, identifiable
conceptual connection between the research problem
driving the study and the research being conducted to
address that problem.

15. § A “yes” answer to one of the following questions:
■ Will a known gap in the BoK be filled?
■ Will previous research be replicated and expanded by
looking at a different category of participants,
environment, and/or constructs/variables?
■ Will previous research be expanded by more thoroughly
examining some identifiable aspect?
■ Are there specific, identifiable, and documented
problems with the currently available solutions?

16. Research-Worthy Problems Are Not Based…
■ solely on personal observations and/or
experiences
■ on a comparison of two sets of data for the
sake of comparison
■ on a correlation of two sets of data
■ on an investigation that yields a “yes” or
“no” answer

17. From Where Do Research-Worthy Problems
Emerge? Steps:
■ Look – topic area: personal interest, personal
experiences
Read
1. Identify leading journals, conference proceedings,
and scholars in domain of interest (or topic area)
2. Perform exhaustive literature search
3. Identify “holes” in the body of knowledge

18. Synthesize
1. Combine insights from articles
2. Integrate the work from different but related
fields
3. Compose generalizations from multiple specific
instances
Consult
1. Experienced researchers in the domain of
interest
2. Attend conferences [relevant]

19. A Template for Crafting a Problem Statement
■ A statement of the problem is one or two
sentences that outline the problem that the
study addresses. The statement of the problem
should briefly address the question: What is the
problem that the research will address?
■ However, the problem statement is the
statement of the problem and the argumentation
for its viability.

20. The problem statement should address all six questions:
what, how, where, when, why, and who (see Figure 4).
Creswell (2005) observed that the problem statement
should be stated in the introductory sections of the
research manuscript and provide the rationale for its
importance by “developing justifications for studying it.”

21. The statement of the problem and the research question
Research questions are formulated in a question format
and are narrowed enough to identify the variables or
construct under study, while the statement of the
problem should not be noted in a question format and
should be in a higher theoretical level derived from the
overall problem the study addresses.

22. Figure 4: Problem Statement Template
1. What: In no more than two sentences, what is the
problem that the research will address? Remember, a
problem is, essentially, something that is ‘going wrong’.
■ Who: List three current, peer-reviewed references that
support the presence of that problem and briefly
describe the nature of that support.

23. 2. How, Where, and When: Again, in no more than two
sentences, describe the impact of the problem. How are
people or researchers’ understanding negatively
impacted by the problem? When and where is the
problem evident?
■ Who: List three current, peer-reviewed references that
support the impact of the problem that the research
proposes addressing and briefly describe the nature of
that support.

24. 3. Why: In no more than two sentences, identify the
conceptual basis for the problem. That is, what does the
literature outline as the cause of the problem?
■ Who: List three current, peer-reviewed references that
support the conceptual basis of the problem and briefly
describe the nature of that support.

25. Figure 6: Example of a Viable Problem Statement
■ “Knowledge management systems (KMS) have proven
to be quite difficult to implement (Becerra-Fernandez &
Sabherwal, 2001; Bossen & Palsgaard, 2005;
Kaweevisultrali & Chan, 2007; Pumareja & Sikkel,
2005). According to Pumareja and Sikkel, such difficulty
was observed even when careful attention is paid to
involving upper management and key stakeholders in
the design and implementation process. Additionally,
some difficulties in KMS implementation have been
observed due to technological barriers (Bossen &
Palsgaard) and users’ perceived knowledge satisfaction
(Becerra-Fernandez & Sabherwal).
■

26. According to Kaweevisultrali and Chan, cultural values
place greater emphasis on cooperation and team effort
than individual goal attainment during KMS
implementation. The benefits of successful KMS
implementations have been documented. Wong,
Crowder, Wills, and Shadbolt (2006) found that KMS
implementation reduces product development time,
while Beis, Loucopoulos, Pyrgiotis, and Zografos (2006)
found that such implementation creates complex
models to facilitate organizational change. However,
KMS implementation coupled with the costs associated
with failed attempts like lost revenues and reduced
employee confidence make effective implementation of
KM efforts vital (Braganza & Mollenkramer, 2002).

27. Although a number of factors have been suggested as
important elements in impacting the success of a KMS,
the impact of organizational culture appears as a
common thread (Bossen & Palsgaard; Kaweevisultrali &
Chan; Pumareja & Sikkel). Unfortunately, very little
attention has been given in literature to exactly what
constitutes the optimal organizational culture for an
effective KMS and how to foster that culture.”

28. Summary and Recommendations
 Problem identification entails an element of creativity
and, therefore, defies a mechanical, highly structured
process orientation. The process described in this paper
might best be viewed as a roadmap that provides a
framework in which a problem statement can be
developed rather than a Global Positioning System
(GPS) that provides detailed, specific directions, on
finding one.

29. Starting with your research
proposal
Compiled by:
Marites D. Bumidang

30. ■Writing a research proposal is both
science and art
■A good research proposal is based on
scientific facts and on the art of clear
communication

31. Writing a formal research proposal should
be started by the time one has decided on
the topic for the study

32. RESEARCH CONTINUUM
Basic Research Applied Research Action Research
Knowledge production Knowledge application Improvement,
intervention

33. ACTION RESEARCH VS. ‘CONVENTIONAL’ RESEARCH
‘Disciplinal’ Research Action Research
Researcher University professors,
discipline-based experts
(mainly outsider)
Teachers, principals,
administrators, personnel
(mainly insider-practitioner)
Goal Generation of new
knowledge, contribution to
the literature
Improvement of practice,
current conditions
Starting
point/
Context
Mainly academic literature Practical problem, felt need
for improvement in practice
Type of
problem
Scholarly, academic Practical, experiential
Impact On the state of literature On the state of practice

34. STEPS IN DOING ACTION RESEARCH
1. Choose a focus area and pinpoint specific problem
2. Gather data and describe current situation
3. Study the cause/s of the problem
4. Plan an action/solution/intervention
5. Implement action
6. Evaluate results
7. Reflect
8. Write

35. Elements of a research
Title
Introduction
– Rationale
– Research problem
– Research objectives, research questions and/or
hypothesis
– Significance
– Expected output
Research Methods
– Design
– Locale and participants
– Instrumentation
– Data gathering procedure
– Data analysis
– Ethical considerations
Results/ Findings and Discussion
References

36. Elements of a research:
• Workplan and schedule of activities
■ Line item budget
■ Expected output and dissemination
■ Curriculum vitae

37. Starting your research proposal
1. Decide on a particular area of research in your
discipline as your focus (research niche-ing/
specialization)
- What is it that really interests you?
2. Search and accumulate all available VALID literature on
the topic. Build your own ‘library’ on this.
- Working bibliography

38. 3. Immerse yourself in the literature on the topic area and in so
doing become an ‘expert’ in this.
■ Familiarize yourself with the key authors/ researchers,
articles, journals
■ Know the schools of thoughts (if any), the main tenets, their
claims, even their weaknesses, criticisms
■ Identify the issues being discussed, the areas of debate, the
gaps, controversies, new trends, ‘cutting-edge’ areas
- LITERATURE GRID

39. No.
Reference Introduction/
Research problem/ objectives
Method Findings/ results Conclusion & recommendations Limitations
Design Participants/ subjects Tools
1.
Arias, C. A. (2014).
Agency in the
reconstruction of
language identity: A
narrative case study
from the Island of
San Andrés. Gist
Education and
Learning Research
Journal, ISSN1692-
5777, pp. 103-123.
The study is aimed at analyzing
how multiple linguistic ideologies
conveyed by overt and covert
language policies, and the
discourses generated through
them, have an effect on a
multilingual individual’s
reconstruction of his linguistic
identity (p. 2).
Questions:
1. What language ideologies
does Fidel, produce, reproduce or
challenge within the discourse
and attitudes embedded in the
construction of his linguistic
identity?
2. How does Fidel construct,
preserve, transform, and/or
challenge the linguistic identity
that he has inherited from his
Raizal social group? (p.3)
Qualitative (case
study) (p.8)
Fidel- a trilingual
speaker (Creole,
English, Spanish)
and a Raizal due
to his heritage and
conviction (p.8).
written
narratives,
dialogic
conversation
(p.9).
Fidel’s narrative is understood as a
discursive practice nested in the core
of a sociocultural reality and the
product of historical background.
Fidel’s multilingualism, likewise, is not
solely the product of his individual life
circumstances or conscious decisions,
but has to do with his identity as a
member of a social group that also
has experienced the development of a
multilingual ethos based on their
shifting demographic realities.
Migration is one of the main
constituents of in-group raizal identity,
but at the same time the demographic
shift generated by migration is the
main threat to the raizal culture.
Despite the pre-eminent historical
role played by Creole in the
foregathering of a raizal identity, it is
not a fully reliable in-group identity
feature.
Fidel’s language choice
demonstrates that in the new raizal
generations, there is an inversely
proportional relation between
closeness to the raizal social structure
and their fondness of Creole (p.8-11).
To determine how the
construction of his linguistic identity
as a raizal individual, Fidel executed
and voiced some the external
discourses as well as the de jure
and de facto language ideologies,
including acculturation, national
homogenizing language policies,
and the internationalizing language
policies of global inclusion (p.15).
Fidel concludes that Creole is still
a constituent of raizal identity, that
Creole is alive, that its contact with
Spanish is not pervasive since
Spanish is now a lexical donor.
Further, that although Creole and
English are two distinctive
languages, he considers his code-
switching as a pathological trend
that needs to be corrected by
pursuing the learning of a standard
version of English (p.16).
The findings are rather
bounded to a time and a
space, and no
generalizations can fully be
made from an individual as
a case informant.
Also, the narratives from
which the data was
analyzed were gauged within
the parameters dictated by
the axial coding that was
framed within the area of
inquiry, yet such narrative is
much more than a sheer
source of data.
This study is the result of
two subjective perspectives;
the rather emic one from
Fidel, and the one of an
outsider who has gathered
the data and analyzed it,
again subjectively following
the parameters of the critical
discourse analysis approach
to a case study research.
Thus, the readings of reality
and data might well be
biased, which does not
necessarily lessen the value
of the findings (p.16).
•Perceptions, attitudes and experiences of teachers and learners on linguistic diversity