1. How to write your
Background of the Study
A beginner's guide on
2. How do you write the background
of the study of your proposed
research?
ďźFirst discuss the meaning and the
ďźCore elements that it should contain
Understanding the nature of the
background of the study in research
and knowing exactly what to include
in it, allow us to have both greater
control and clear direction of the
writing process
3. What is the
Background
of the
Study?
ďForms the first section of the
introduction to a research paper
ďProvides the overview of the study;
Establishes the context of the study
ďExplains why the proposed research
is important, and essential to
understanding the main aspects of
the study
4. ďThe background of the study, therefore, is the section of the
research paper or thesis that identifies the problem or gap of
the study that needs to addressed and justifies the need for
conducting the study.
ďIt also articulates the main goal of the study and the thesis
statement, that is, the main claim or argument of the paper
5. The Background of the Study
should contain the following
major points (Core Elements)
ďźBrief discussion on what is known about the topic under
ďźAn articulation of the research gap or problem that needs
to be addressed
ďźWhat the researcher would like to do or aim to achieve in
the study
6. The Background of the Study
should contain the following
major points (Core Elements)
ďźThe thesis statement, that is, the main argument or
contention of the paper (which also serves as the reason
why the researcher would want to pursue the study
ďźThe major significance or contribution of the study to a
particular discipline; and
ďźDepending on the nature of the study, an articulation of the
hypothesis of the study
7. How to Write
the Opening
Paragraphs of
the Background
of the Study
8. Letâs Assume:
ďconducted a preliminary research
on your chosen topic,
ďread a lot of literature and gathered
relevant information for writing the
background of your study.
ďidentified the gap of your proposed
research and have already
developed the research questions
and thesis statement.
9. ďThere are different styles of writing
the background of the study.
ďThere is no âone-size-fits-allâ style of
writing this part of the research
ďYou are free to develop your own
10. Begin the background of your study with
an overview of your research topic.
Suppose the topic
of your study is:
Lived experiences of
students with mathematical
anxiety
⢠Providing a definition
of the key concepts
⢠Highlighting the main
developments of the
research topic
You may start the
background of your study
with a discussion on the
meaning, nature, and
dynamics of the term
âmathematical anxietyâ.
⢠Highly technical term
⢠Not readily understandable to
non-specialists in this field.
11. âMathematical anxiety refers
to the individualâs unpleasant
emotional mood responses
when confronted with a
mathematical situation.â
Since you did not invent
the definition of the term
âmathematical anxietyâ
then you need to provide
a citation to the source of
the material from which
you are quoting.
12. âMathematical anxiety refers to
the individualâs unpleasant
emotional mood responses when
confronted with a mathematical
situation (Elliot, 2020).â
Then you may proceed
with the discussion on
the nature and
dynamics of the term
âmathematical anxietyâ
13. âLou (2019) specifically identifies
some of the manifestations of this
type of anxiety, which include,
but not limited to, depression,
helplessness, nervousness and
fearfulness in doing mathematical
and numerical tasks.â
14. After explaining to your readers the meaning,
nature, and dynamics (as well as some historical
development if you wish to) of the term
âmathematical anxietyâ
Proceed to showing
the problem or gap
of the study
âMathematical anxiety can negatively
affect not just the academic achievement
of the students but also their future
career plans and total well-being. Also,
there are no known studies that deal with
the mathematical anxiety of junior high
school students in New Zealand.â
Suppose that your
research problem
or gap is:
15. âIf left unchecked, as Shapiro (2019) claims, this problem will
expand and create a total avoidance pattern on the part of the
students, which can be expressed most visibly in the form of
cutting classes and habitual absenteeism. As we can see, this
will negatively affect the performance of students in
mathematics. In fact, the study conducted by Luttenberger and
Wimmer (2018) revealed that the outcomes of mathematical
anxiety do not only negatively affect the studentsâ performance
in math-related situations but also their future career as
professionals. Without a doubt, therefore, mathematical anxiety
is a recurring problem for many individuals which will negatively
affect the academic success and future career of the student.â
16. Now that you already have both explained the meaning,
nature, and dynamics of the term âmathematical
anxietyâ and articulated the gap of your proposed
research
State the main
goal of your
study
âHence, it is precisely in this context that
the researcher aims to determine the
lived experiences of those students with
mathematical anxiety. In particular, this
proposed research aims to determine the
lived experiences of the junior high school
students in New Zealand and identify the
factors that caused them to become
disinterested in mathematics.â
17. Articulate the thesis statement
ďthe thesis statement is the
statement of your argument or
contention in the study.
ďIt is more of a personal argument
or claim of the researcher, which
specifically highlights the possible
contribution of the study.
18. âThe researcher argues that there is a need to determine the
lived experiences of these students with mathematical anxiety
because knowing and understanding the difficulties and
challenges that they have encountered will put the researcher in
the best position to offer some alternatives to the problem.
Indeed, it is only when we have performed some kind of a
âdiagnosisâ that we can offer practicable solutions to the problem.
And in the case of the junior high school students in New Zealand
who are having mathematical anxiety, determining their lived
experiences as well as identifying the factors that caused them to
become disinterested in mathematics are the very first steps in
addressing the problem.â
19. Five essential elements that must be articulated
in the background of the study, namely:
1. A brief discussion on what is known
about the topic under investigation
2. An articulation of the research gap or
problem that needs to be addressed
3. What the researcher would like to do or
aim to achieve in the study (research
goal)
4. The thesis statement, that is, the main
argument or claim of the paper; and
5. The major significance or contribution
of the study to a particular discipline.
20. How to Write
the Body of the
Background of
the Study
What should be
its content?
21. One of the best ways to write the body of the
background of the study is to:
Attack it from its
vantage point of the
research gap
Research Gap:
There are Junior High School
students in New Zealand who
are experiencing
mathematical anxiety
22. âEpistemologicalâ
aspect of research
Remember that a âstatementâ
remains an assumption until you
can provide concrete proofs to it
Specific branch of philosophy
that deals with the validity of
knowledge
To Validate knowledge
is to provide concrete
proofs to our
statements
23. ⢠The body of the background of
the study, therefore, should be
a presentation and articulation
of the proofs to our claim that
indeed there are junior high
school students in New Zealand
who are experiencing
mathematical anxiety.
24. ďźLook for literature on
mathematical anxiety among
junior high school students in
New Zealand and cite them here.
ďźIf there are not enough literature
on this topic in New Zealand, then
we need to conduct initial
interviews with these students or
make actual classroom
observations and record instances
of mathematical anxiety among
these students
it is always a good
idea if we combine
literature review
with interviews and
actual observations.
25. Assuming you already have the data, then you may
now proceed with the writing of the body of your
background of the study
âAccording to records and based on the researcherâs
firsthand experience with students in some junior
high schools in New Zealand, indeed, there are
students who lost interest in mathematics. For one,
while checking the daily attendance and monitoring
of the students, it was observed that some of them
are not always attending classes in mathematics but
are regularly attending the rest of the required
subjects.â
26. âAs a matter of fact, this phenomenon is also
observed in the work of Estonanto. In his study
titled âImpact of Math Anxiety on Academic
Performance in Pre-Calculus of Senior High
Schoolâ, Estonanto (2019) found out that, inter
alia, students with mathematical anxiety have
the tendency to intentionally prioritize other
subjects and commit habitual tardiness and
absences.â
27. âWith this initial knowledge in mind, the
researcher conducted initial interviews with
some of these students. The researcher learned
that one student did not regularly attend his
math subject because he believed that he is not
good in math and no matter how he listens to
the topic he will not learn.â
28. âAnother student also mentioned that she was
influenced by her friendsâ perception that
mathematics is hard; hence, she avoids the
subject. Indeed, these are concrete proofs that
there are some junior high school students in
New Zealand who have mathematical anxiety. As
already hinted, âdisinterestâ or the loss of
interest in mathematics is one of the
manifestations of a mathematical anxiety.â
29. And then you need to validate
this observation by conducting
another round of interview and
observation in other schools
So, you may continue
writing the body of the
background of the study
with this
âTo validate the
information gathered from
the initial interviews
and observations, the
researcher conducted
another round of
interview and observation
with other junior high
school students in New
Zealand.â
30. âOn the one hand, the researcher found out that
during mathematics time some students felt
uneasy; in fact, they showed a feeling of being
tensed or anxious while working with numbers
and mathematical problems. Some were even
afraid to seat in front, while some students at
the back were secretly playing with their
mobile phones. These students also show
remarkable apprehension during board works like
trembling hands, nervous laughter, and the
like.â
31. âAs Finlayson (2017) corroborates, emotional symptoms
of mathematical anxiety involve feeling of
helplessness, lack of confidence, and being nervous
for being put on the spot. It must be noted that these
occasionally extreme emotional reactions are not
triggered by provocative procedures. As a matter of
fact, there are no personally sensitive questions or
intentional manipulations of stress. The teacher
simply asked a very simple question, like identifying
the parts of a circle. Certainly, this observation
also conforms with the study of Ashcraft (2016) when
he mentions that students with mathematical anxiety
show a negative attitude towards math and hold self-
perceptions about their mathematical abilities.â
32. âOn the other hand, when the class had their
other subjects, the students show a feeling of
excitement. They even hurried to seat in front
and attentively participating in the class
discussion without hesitation and without the
feeling of being tensed or anxious. For sure,
this is another concrete proof that there are
junior high school students in New Zealand who
have mathematical anxiety.â
33. Solicit observations from
other math teachers
To further prove the point
that there indeed junior
high school students in
New Zealand who have
mathematical anxiety
34. âThe researcher further verified if the problem is
also happening in other sections and whether other
mathematics teachers experienced the same observation
that the researcher had. This validation or
verification is important in establishing credibility
of the claim (Buchbinder, 2016) and ensuring
reliability and validity of the assertion (Morse et
al., 2002). In this regard, the researcher attempted
to open up the issue of math anxiety during the
Departmentalized Learning Action Cell (LAC), a group
discussion of educators per quarter, with the
objective of âTeaching Strategies to Develop Critical
Thinking of the Studentsâ.
35. During the session, one teacher corroborates the
researcherâs observation that there are indeed junior
high school students in New Zealand who have
mathematical anxiety. The teacher pointed out that
truly there were students who showed no extra effort
in mathematics class in addition to the fact that some
students really avoided the subject. In addition,
another math teacher expressed her frustrations about
these students who have mathematical anxiety. She
quipped: âHow can a teacher develop the critical
thinking skills or ability of the students if in the
first place these students show avoidance and
disinterest in the subject?â.â
36. How to Write the
Concluding part of the
Background of the Study
37. the conclusion of the
background of the
study is just a
rehashing of the
research gap and
main goal of the
study stated in the
introductory
paragraph.
The purpose of this is
just to emphasize, after
presenting the
justifications, what the
study aims to attain and
why it wants to do it.
38. âGiven the above discussion, it is evident that
there are indeed junior high school students in
New Zealand who are experiencing mathematical
anxiety. And as we can see, mathematical
anxiety can negatively affect not just the
academic achievement of the students but also
their future career plans and total well-being.
Again, it is for this reason that the
researcher attempts to determine the lived
experiences of those junior high school
students in New Zealand who are experiencing a
mathematical anxiety.â
Given this brief understanding of the background of the study, we can anticipate what readers or thesis committee members expect from it. As we can see, the background of the study should contain the following major points
However, whatever style it would be, it always starts with a plan which structures the writing process into stages or steps. The steps that I will share with below are just some of the most effective ways of writing the background of the study in research.
Please note that you should not end the first paragraph of your background of the study with the articulation of the research goal. You also need to articulate the âthesis statementâ, which usually comes after the research goal.
Truly, this is one of the most difficult challenges that fledgling scholars faced. Because they are inexperienced researchers and didnât know what to do next, they just wrote whatever they wished to write. Fortunately, this is relatively easy if they know the technique.
the reason why we need to provide proofs to our claim that there are indeed junior high school students in New Zealand who are experiencing mathematical anxiety is the obvious fact that if there are none, then we cannot proceed with our study. We have no one to interview with in the first. In short, we donât have respondents
Please note, however, that this idea is true only if you follow the style of writing the background of the study that I introduced in this course.
After this sentence, you may insert some literature that will support this position. For example, you may say:
the reason why we need to provide proofs to our claim that there are indeed junior high school students in New Zealand who are experiencing mathematical anxiety is the obvious fact that if there are none, then we cannot proceed with our study. We have no one to interview with in the first. In short, we donât have respondents
Then provide literature
Then provide literature
the reason why we need to provide proofs to our claim that there are indeed junior high school students in New Zealand who are experiencing mathematical anxiety is the obvious fact that if there are none, then we cannot proceed with our study. We have no one to interview with in the first. In short, we donât have respondents