This document discusses guidelines for selecting a research problem and formulating hypotheses. It defines key terms like research problem, assumption, hypothesis, and title. It provides guidelines for writing titles, selecting research topics, formulating general and specific research problems. It also discusses the different forms hypotheses can take and their purposes and functions in research.

1. THE RESEARCH
PROBLEM
MARY KRYSTLE DAWN DENOSTA SULLEZA
Reporter

2. INTRODUCTION
Selection of research problem depends on several factors such as researcher’s
knowledge, skills, interests, expertise, motivation and creativity with respect
to the subject of inquiry.
A research problem is a question that researcher wants to answer or a
problem that a researcher wants to solve.
Identification and formulation of a research problem is the first step of the
research process.
It is believed that most of the good research studies needs a lot of time for
selection of a research problem.

3. Guidelines in
the Selection
of a Research
Problem
Assumptions
Definition

4. DEFINITION
According to Kerlinger, ‘A problem is an interrogative sentence or
statement that asks what relation exists between two or more
variable. The answer to question will provide what is having sought
in the research.
R.S. Woodworth defines problem as ‘a situation for which we have
no ready and successful response by instinct or by previous acquired
habit. We must find out what to do’, i.e. the solution can be found
out only after an investigation.

5. ELEMENTS OF A RESEARCH
PROBLEM
1. Objective or aim of the problem which is to be
investigated.
2. The topic or theme which needs to be
investigated.
3. The time dimension of a decision problem is
always the future.
4. The area or location in which the study is to be
conducted.
5. Population or universe from whom the data
needs to be gathered.

6. GUIDELINES IN THE SELECTION OF A
RESEARCH PROBLEM OR TOPIC
1. Select a research topic
2. Originality
3. Feasibility
4. Solvable/ Researchable
5. Current
6. Interesting

7. The name of a book, composition, or
other artistic work.
WHAT IS A TITLE?

8. 1. It should be CLEAR & SPECIFIC
2. MAIN CONCEPTS should be included like the SUBJECT MATTER OF THE
STUDY
3. VARIABLES being investigated should always be written as part of the
title
4. number of words in the title should not exceed 20 SUBSTANTIVE
WORDS, function words not to be included in the counting (Baker &
Shutz, 1999)
5.Avoid title phrasing such as "Study of....". "An analysis...", "A scientific
study of...", "An experimental investigation...." and "A preliminary Study
of..." They are vague and not acceptable for inclusion in a research title..
6. If the title contains more than one line, it must be written like an
inverted pyramid, all words in capital letters...
GUIDELINES IN WRITING THE
TITLE

9. A Research Problem, or phenomenon as it might
be called in many forms of qualitative research, is
the topic you would like to address, investigate, or
study, whether descriptively or experimentally.
WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROBLEM

10. 1.) Specify the Research Objectives
2.) Review the environment or Context of the Research Problem
3.) Explore the Nature of the Problem
4.) Define the Variable Relationships
5.) The Consequences of Alternative Courses of Action
GUIDELINES IN FORMULATING THE GENERAL
PROBLEM AND SPECIFIC SUBPROBLEMS OR
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

11. An assumption is a self-evident truth
which is based upon a known fact or
phenomenon
ASSUMPTION

12. GUIDELINES IN THE USE OF BASIC
ASSUMPTIONS
1. You cannot assume the value of your study.
2. You cannot assume the reliability of the instruments you propose
to use in your research.
3. You cannot assume the validity of basic data.
4. You cannot assume that your population is typical.
5. An assumption is not tested, neither is it defended nor argued.

13. HYPOTHESES
A hypothesis is a
tentative conclusion or
answer to a specific
question raised at the
beginning of the
investigation.

14. A hypothesis should be:
* stated clearly using appropriate terminology;
*testable;
*a statement of relationships between variables;
*limited in scope (focused).

15. Forms of Hypotheses
1.Operational form
states that there is a difference between two
phenomena.
2. Null form
states that there is no difference between the
two phenomena.

16. QUESTION:
Is there any significant
difference between the perceptions
of the teachers and those of the
students concerning the different
aspects in the teaching of science?
EXAMPLES

17. Operational hypothesis: There is a significant
difference between the perceptions of the
teachers and those of the students concerning the
different aspects in the teaching of science.
Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference
between the perceptions of the teachers and
those of the students concerning the different
aspects in the teaching of science
FORMS OF HYPOTHESIS

18. also known as research hypothesis or experimental
hypothesis is a statement of inequality between
variables predicting that there is a difference in
conditions or that there is an association between
variables (Brace, Kemp & Snelgar, 2006).
ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS

19. Instructions
1
Know what your null hypothesis is beforehand.
For example, in an experiment testing the whitening
effects of a new kind of toothpaste, the null hypothesis
would be "On average, there is no difference in whitening
effect between the new toothpaste and the control
whitening toothpaste."

20. 2
Gather the facts you already have about the new
toothpaste. For example, you may know that the
toothpaste contains higher levels of a whitening
agent than the control toothpaste, that the control
toothpaste does not perform as well as hoped and
that the new toothpaste has seemed to be effective
in informal testing.

21. 3
Compose your alternative hypothesis, using the
facts you have gathered to make an informed guess.
In this case, it may be, "The new toothpaste is more
effective than the control toothpaste for whitening
teeth, on average."

22. 4
Check your alternative hypothesis to make certain it
fulfills the requirements of an experimental hypothesis: Is
it a prediction? Is it testable? If not, rewrite it. For
example, if your hypothesis is "Will the new toothpaste
prove more effective than the control toothpaste?,"
rewrite it as a prediction instead of a question.

23. 1.They have to be expressed.(experimental
investigation)
2.Hypotheses are seldom expressed if not
entirely absent.(descriptive and historical
investigation)
3.Hypotheses are usually stated in the null
form because testing a null hypothesis is
easier than in an operational form of
hypothesis.
4.Hypotheses are formulated from the
GUIDELINES IN THE FORMULATION OF EXPLICIT
HYPOTHESES

24. Purposes, Functions, and
Importance of
Hypotheses or Specific
Questions.

25. 1.They help the researcher in designing his
study.
2.They serve as bases for determining
assumptions.
3.They serve as bases for determining the
relevance of data.
4.They serve as bases for the explanation or
discussion about the data gathered.
5.They help or guide the researcher in