The document outlines the process of conceptualizing research, including topic selection, literature review, refining research questions, and structuring the paper. It details steps from creating an initial bibliography to editing and submitting the paper, emphasizing the importance of a references page and proper citation methods. It encourages ongoing documentation of sources throughout the research process to support academic writing.

1. C O N C E P T U A L I Z I N G T H E R E S E A R C H
Prepared by:
Louie Ozaraga

2. C H O O S I N G A T O P I C
a. Basis for selection
b. Procedure
c. Creating initial
bibliography

3. 1. Finding your focus
- Which aspects of your discipline
interest you most?
- what have you observed that
you have questions about?
- what articles have you read that
have raised questions in your
mind?

4. 2. What are the gaps in
literature?
- By topic (What is not being looked
at?)
- Methods (What is not being done?)
- Populations (Who is not being
studied?)
- Comparisons (Who is not being
compared?)

5. 3. Where to start?
- Read
- Detailed literature searches
- Discuss subject area with peers
- Listen and ask questions

6. 4. Refining research topics
- Discuss with fellow researchers
- Discuss with stakeholders
- Assess what is most critical to
learn
- Assess research sources available

7. 5. Questions to ask yourself
- Is this a good idea?
- Who cares?
- Can it be addressed using
appropriate research methods?
- Will it stimulate interest by others
and the sponsors?
- Is it feasible/practical/doable?
- Is it fundable?

8. 6. Writing the research title
- Does the title describe what the
study is all about?
- Does the title contain high
specificity level?
- Is the title academically phrased
and is not verbose?

9. 7. Writing an introduction
- What is the problem?
- Why is it a problem?
- How it should be solved?
- Why it should be solved?
- What is the purpose of the study?

10. What is a statement of the
problem
- A statement of the problem is a
concise description of the issues to
be addressed by the researcher.

11. Why do a background study?
- In addition to gaining general
knowledge about your topic area,
your goals are to determine the
current state of knowledge and to
become familiar with current
research.

12. Think of the who, what, when, where, and
why questions:
WHY did you choose the topic? What interests you
about it? Do you have an opinion about the issues
involved?
WHO are the information providers on this topic?
Who might publish information about it? Who is
affected by the topic? Do you know of organizations or
institutions affiliated with the topic?
WHAT are the major questions for this topic? Is there
a debate about the topic? Are there a range of issues
and viewpoints to consider?
WHERE is your topic important: at the local, national,
or international level? Are there specific places
affected by the topic?
WHEN is/was your topic important? Is it a current
event or an historical issue? Do you want to compare
you topic by time periods?

13. First Step: Preparation of the
Paper Contents
• The in-detail "content" of the
paper has be written first.
• The content may be branched
down up to fourth level (1. 1. 1.
1)

14. Second Step: Filling the content
• This four level content as discussed in the
previous slide may be filled with related
content.
• Contents can be directly copied from other
sources as much as required.
• The reference to the copied content must be
saved so that it can be used while preparing
the Reference section of the paper.
• The content describing the novelty or the
objective or the brief methodology or the
detail methodology or results and
discussions followed by conclusion has to be
written in own words.

15. Third Step: Making the
Methodology Flow chart
• The flow chart depicting the
detail methodology has to be
added to the Methodology
section.
• The description of the flow
chart has to be in own words
and can be added after the
flow chart.

16. Fourth Step: Preparation of the Result and
Discussion (R&D)
• The Result and Discussion (R&D)
section has to be prepared as a
support to the methodology described
in the Methodology section.
• The entire result and discussion
section has to be in own words not
directly copied from other sources.
• The results already published but can
support the findings of the paper may
also be included and cited in the R&D
section.

17. Fifth Step: Editing
• The paper thus prepared may
be printed.
• The Objective, Methodology,
result and Discussion and
Conclusion section has to be
edited minutely and
corrections or addition or
deletion if any has to be made
in this step.

18. Six Step: Anti Plagiarism and Grammar Check
• A plagiarism checking software for
identification of duplicate content can be
used for detection of similarity of the
entire paper with respect to the other
sources that are already published.
• The identified sentences can be re-written
in a different way using synonyms of the
existing word.
• After the correction, the paper has to be
rechecked again with software.
• Until the percentage of similarity reduced
to less than 8%, this step has to be
repeated.

19. Last Step: Final Editing and Journal Submission
• After the similarity of the paper less than
8%, the fourth level paragraph may be
merged with the third and third may be
merged to the second paragraph for
reduction of complexity in the structure of
the paper.
• It is better to have a two level content,
compared to a one or three or more levelled
content.
• Once this final editing is completed, the
paper has to be submitted for grammatical
error checking and then the corrected paper
may be submitted to a journal for possible
publication.

20. • What is the Reference page?
• Why do we need or use it?
• When do we create the
Reference page?
• Where is the Reference page
located?
• How do we cite sources?

21. What is the Reference page?
Question:
• You've been told that your paper
is fine, but you did not include a
References page (Works Cited or
Bibliography)... but what is this
page?
- What should it contain?
- Where should it be placed?

22. What is the Reference page?
Answer:
• The References page is:
⚬ Your reference page or bibliography; it can be
one or more pages depending on how many
sources you use.
⚬ The page where your reader can find out about
your sources:
￭ Who authored them and where they were
printed;
￭ How current they are; when the article or
book was written and ... most importantly...
Where your reader can find this information
(just in case they want to "check out" the source
document)

23. Why do we use a References page?
Question:
• I just don't understand why we create the
References page. Why waste our time?

24. Why do we use a References page?
Answer:
There is no new information in the world.
Agree or disagree?
• You might not agree with the previous statement,
but at the associates or bachelors-degree level, you
are not presenting new information, but using
researched information and data to uphold the
ideas in your papers, portfolio or presentations.
• You are presenting scholarly, well-researched,
academic writing on the topic of your choice (or
your instructor's choice)

25. Do your sources pass the test?
• Basically, the References page is where
your reader can "test" your resources
• They assess you as an academic writer by:
⚬ Seeing how current the resources are
⚬ How reliable they are
⚬ How valid they are
• This is where you reaffirm to your reader
that you know what you are talking about

26. Ensure you document your
trial
• Imagine that the References page is a
roadmap leading your reader back to the
source for your information. Citing
sources offers them directions to find the
same information you read and used.

27. When do we need to create
the References page?
Question:
• Hmmm, this is the final item in our
document, so the References page should
be created last, right?

28. When do we need to create the
References page?
Answer:
• The references page is a work-in-progress.
• Recommend:
⚬ Starting your references page when you begin your
research.
⚬ Continue to add and subtract from your works
cited page while writing the document.
⚬ Then finish it and format the list of sources as you
finish your paper.
• Create a working list of citations.
⚬ So when you take a quote or a paraphrase from
your resource, you have the citation readily
available and you don't forget to include it.

29. How do we cite sources?
BOOKS: Author's Last Name, First Initial. Middle
initial. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle
of book. edition. Place of Publication: Publisher.
WEBSITES: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of
publication). Title of document. Retrieved from
http:// Web address.
CHAPTERS: Author's Last Name, First Initial.
Middle initial. (Date of Publication). Title of
chapter or article. In Editor #1 First Initial. Middle
Initial. Last Name, & Editor #2 Frist Initial. Middle
Initial. Last Name (Eds.), Title of book: Subtitle of
book (pp. Pages). Place of Publication: Publisher.

30. REMEMBER...
For every reference listed on your
References page, there will be a
corresponding citation within your
document.

31. Sources
Primary Source
Batoon, Emmanuel D. (2005). A Guide to Thesis Writing in Philosophy: Part 1 ‘Proposal Writing’. Sampaloc, Manila: REJN Publishing.
Secondary Sources
n.a. (n.d.). Selecting a Research Topic: Overview. Retrieved from https://libguides.mit.edu/select-
topic#:~:text=Choose%20a%20topic%20that%20you,not%20be%20able%20to%20focus.
Mrinmoy Majumder. (2017). Ideas for doing research. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/kuttu80/how-to-write-a-research-paper-
77427501?qid=1b014cfc-6288-46fb-bb1c-d3c3a543fe2f&v=&b=&from_search=16.
Poole. (2012). Citing Sources: Simples as 1-2-3? Maybe not, but here’s the A, B, Cs!. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/poole7/m2-citing-
sourcescom300?qid=51dc68d5-49ae-4fdd-b634-ce31dea3ebca&v=&b=&from_search=26.
Maria Theresa Dalagan. (2017). Conceptualizing a Research Study. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/MariaTheresaDalagan/chapter-4-
conceptualizing-a-research-study.

32. T W 1 M E T H O D S O F R E S E A R C H F O R M A N D S T Y L E
THANK YOU!
L O U I E O Z A R A
M A R C H 9 , 2 0 2 2 / W E D N E S D A Y