This document provides guidelines for formatting chapters 1-3 of a thesis or dissertation. Chapter 1 introduces the problem, presents the background, statement of the problem, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, hypotheses, scope and limitations, and defines key terms. Chapter 2 reviews related literature, including conceptual literature on key variables and research literature summarizing at least 10 related studies. Chapter 3 describes the research methodology, including the research design, respondents, data collection instrument, data collection procedures, and statistical analysis methods used to address the research questions.

1. Thesis/Dissertation
Format Chapter 1 - 3
Chapter 1 - THE
PROBLEM
⚫This chapter deals with the presentation of the problem.
Specifically, this presents an introduction, the background
of the study, statement of the problem, theoretical
framework, conceptual framework, hypothesis of the study,
scope and limitations of the study, significance of the study,
and definition of terms. (Or any similar introduction of the
chapter) Introduction
⚫Briefly introduce your research problem in not more than
two pages. This usually starts with the global or general
perspectives down to local or particular perspectives.

2. ⚫It should not be a compilation of literature. This should be
written using your own words and too much citation of
references should be avoided. ⚫At the last paragraph of
this introduction, clearly and briefly state your specific
research problem.
Background of the Study
⚫This is about existing or current issues, concerns,
conditions, situations, or scenario in your particular
area, subject or locale of study.
⚫At the last paragraph of the background, clearly state
the rationale or main reason/s why there is a need for the
conduct of your study. ⚫This is different from your
objectives of the study, but of course, related or
connected.
Statement of the Problem

3. ⚫This study aimed to (state the general objective of the
research) … . Specifically, this sought answers for the
following questions (state the specific research
questions): (The following is a sample format.) 1. What is
the profile of … in terms of:
⚫profile variable one;
⚫profile variable two;
⚫profile variable three; and
⚫last profile variable?
2. How do … with regard to:
⚫test variable one;
⚫test variable two;
⚫test variable three; and
⚫last test variable?
3. Is there a significant difference on … ?
4. How may the responses on … be compared?
5. Is there a significant relationship between … ?
6. Does … significantly affect … ?
7. What strategies may be proposed to … ?

4. Theoretical Framework
⚫Present here the theoretical basis/bases of
your study;cite the reference/s using APA Style
6th
edition author(surname/s)-year format. Old
theories or references (i.e., 10 years or more ago)
are allowed for use as theoretical bases.
⚫If the theoretical basis has a figure or diagram
concerning the theory or variables you adopted,
present this without modifying or changing and
cite the reference of the figure (to be indicated in
author-year format enclosed in parentheses at
the end of the figure title). Otherwise, do not
present any figure or do not make your own figure
for this section.
⚫This should also contain a brief discussion of

5. each variable (test variable) you will be using
base only on the theory you adopted. (The
detailed discussion of the said variables, including
concepts from other theories, should be in
Chapter II, specifically, the section for Concetual
Literature.
Conceptual Framework
⚫This section contains your own framework or design for
your own study. You need to present your conceptual
paradigm and discuss the contents of such figure/model. The
figure and discussion should contain the variables (profile and
test variables) you included in the statement of the problem
and your own assumptions regarding the relationships of such
variables. Hypothesis of the Study
The study tested the hypothesis given below:
Ho: There is no significant difference on … when grouped
according to … . (or if there are two or more hypotheses)

6. The study tested the following hypotheses:
Ho1: There is no significant difference on … when grouped
according to … . Ho2: There is no significant relationship
between … .
Ho3: The … has no significant effect on … .
(The order of the hypotheses should be in the same order as
the corresponding research question in the statement of
the problem.)
Scope and Limitations of the Study
⚫In this section, you need to include the discussion on the
following: what is the study all about, what are the objectives
of the study and what are the variables used; why is there a
need to conduct the study; who were your
respondents; when and where was the study conducted;
how did you conduct the study; and what are the perceived
limitations or weaknesses of the study (the unavoidable
cases or circumstances that made the study or the results of

7. the study “weaker”).
Significance of the Study
Introductory statement … .
To first beneficiary (state the first and foremost
beneficiary, in bold letters), this study will … ;
To second beneficiary, this study will … ;
To third beneficiary, this study will … ;
…
… ; and
To future researchers, this study will … .
Definition of Terms
Introductory statement … .
First Term. (bold letters, capitalize first letter of major words
in the term, with period after the term) State the conceptual
definition, one sentence only, then at the end of sentence,
before the period, indicate the reference (book, journal
article and other reliable source; do not use thesis, dictionary

8. and unreliable web article as reference), in APA style
author-year format (Author, year). State a one-sentence
operational definition, usually starting with “In this study,”.
Second Term. Conceptual definition (Author, year). In
this study, … . Third Term. Conceptual definition (Author,
year). In this study, … . …
…
Last Term. Conceptual definition (Author, year). In this study,
… .
⚫Note: The terms should be arranged alphabetically. Only
important terms should be defined here, usually, but not
limited to, the terms included in the title and in the main
research question or statement of the problem.
Chapter II -REVIEW OF LITERATURE This
chapter deals with the review of related concepts and studies found
in previous literature. It also presents a synthesis of reviewed

9. research literature. (Or any similar introduction of the chapter)
Conceptual Literature
⚫Provide an introductory statement for this section.
⚫Then present a review of conceptual literature related to your present
study in topical approach and in an order starting with the general topic
then the specific topics, particularly the variables used (test variables) in
the same order as in the statement of the problem.
⚫Provide at least five literature reviews for each topic and use more
recent literature (i.e., not older than 10 years).
⚫Old literature or references may still be allowed for conceptual literature
depending on the level of its importance or significance to the present
study or if no recent literature is available.
⚫It include books, other reliable general references, government laws
and issuances, and articles published in research journals (provided
that in case of articles only concepts and theories should be included in
the review of conceptual literature and the empirical findings or results
of study are to be included in the review of research literature).
⚫For conceptual literature review, it is not necessary that one
paragraph has only one reference.
General Topic

10. ⚫Present here the review of concepts and theories related to your
general topic. Do not just copy the literature. You need to
rephrase or paraphrase the literature you read but still properly
cite the reference using APA Style 6th
edition.
⚫Variable One (the order is according to Statement of the
Problem) ⚫Present here the review of concepts and theories
related to your first variable. ⚫Variable Two
⚫Present here the review of concepts and theories related to your
second variable. ⚫Until the Last Variable
⚫Present here the review of concepts and theories related to
your last variable. ⚫Topic Related to the Output of the Study
(if applicable/necessary and if cannot be integrated in the
previous topics/variables)
⚫Present here the review of concepts and theories related to the
output of your study.
⚫Topic about Respondent/Subject of the Study (if
applicable/necessary and if cannot be integrated in the previous
topics/variables)

11. ⚫Present here the review of concepts and theories
related to your respondent or subject of the study. Be
reminded as well that this part is not regarding your
profile variables. Discussion of concepts or theories
related to any of your profile variables has to be
integrated in any appropriate topic here in the
conceptual literature while similar or related findings
regarding your profile variables has to be included in
research literature.
⚫If there are two or more general topics with
corresponding sets of variables, order of presentation
depends upon the degree of importance (from most
important to least important) in a particular study.
However, this order of presentation should also
correspond to the order of research questions
presented in the Statement of the Problem (SOP). In

12. most cases, dependent variables have to be presented
first (both in the SOP and in the review of conceptual
literature) before the independent variables.
Research Literature
⚫ Present here the review of related studies or researches at
one-study-one-paragraph approach (except in few cases where more than
one paragraph per study may be allowed, provided that citation is clearly
stated per paragraph).
⚫The presentation should be from the most-related down to the least-related
study. ⚫Research literature include theses, dissertations, case studies, feasibility
studies, capstone projects and the like from local and foreign higher education
institutions, and research articles published in refereed journals, whether in print
or electronic (provided that, in case of published articles, the methodology and
empirical findings or results of study, and not merely the concepts or theories,
shall be presented here).
⚫At least 10 related researches should be reviewed and presented here. Do not
include degree-
requirement researches (theses, dissertations and the like) that
are older than 10 years. Published articles in refereed journals older than 10
years are still acceptable depending upon its importance or significance to the
present study but student-researchers are highly encouraged to look for and use

13. more recent articles.
⚫Each review of related research shall include the following (whenever available
in the research reviewed and useful for the present study): main topic and
objectives of the study with the variables used, research design and data
gathering instrument used, sampling design and respondents of the study, and
salient findings or results of the study.
⚫The title of thesis or research article should not be mentioned as is but the
topic of the research reviewed has to be clearly stated. For example, instead
of stating: The study of Castillo (2014) entitled “Employability Skills of
Graduating Business and Accounting Students of Batangas State University”
…; you may write: Castillo (2014) assessed the employability skills of
graduating business and accounting students of Batangas State University
… (or any similar sentence not mentioning the title as is).
Synthesis
⚫Present a synthesis of reviewed researches, that is,
combining two or more generally related studies in one
paragraph and discuss their similarities and differences
to your present study.
⚫It should include all the researches reviewed and

14. usually presented in not more than two pages, usually 2
to 4 paragraphs. In mentioning the references, the
author-year format (APA Style 6th
edition) should still be
used.
⚫Be reminded further that the author may not
necessarily be a person or persons; it may also be an
organization or an institution. ⚫Regarding citation of
references with multiple authors, similar authors, similar
surnames of authors, no author, no date or year, same
authors with the same year, online references, and other
queries on citation and referencing, refer to the rules on
APA Style 6th
edition.
Chapter III - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter deals with the research methods used in the study. It
includes discussion on research design, respondents of the study
including sampling, data gathering instrument, data gathering

15. procedure, and statistical treatment of data. (Or any similar
introduction of the chapter)
Research Environment (if necessary/applicable)
⚫ Discuss here the present environment or existing setting or
scenario during the period when the actual study was done,
especially the data gathering phase, that may had affected the
conduct of the study or its results. Be reminded that this is
different from the Background of the Study presented in Chapter
I.
Research Design
⚫State here the research design used and provide a brief
discussion regarding such design. You may include a definition or
description of the research design from a reliable reference,
usually a book on research methods (do not use previous thesis
as reference for this), and properly cite the reference using APA
Style.
⚫This section usually consists of only two or three paragraphs.
On the last part, state a justification for the use of such design

16. or why the design is the most appropriate for your present
study.
Respondents of the Study
⚫Mention who are the respondents, describe their
characteristics and explain why they are the suitable
respondents for your study. Include the number of
respondents and explain how you arrived at such
number or how you determined the sample size.
⚫State the sampling design used and discuss how this
was actually utilized or conducted (there is no need to
define and explain the sampling design as found in
books). If all members of the population are your
respondents (or target respondents), clearly state and
explain why it was necessary to conduct a census on
the whole population instead of sampling.
Data Gathering Instrument
⚫State the data gathering instrument used. If the data gathering instrument is a survey

17. questionnaire made or constructed by you as researcher, you need to present here the
following: how the questionnaire was
constructed, the content of the questionnaire, who
validated it and how it was validated, the conduct of dry run –
when, where and who were
the respondents for the dry run, the reliability analysis and its result, how it should be
administered including the ethical considerations on its administration, and the scoring to be
used for the questionnaire.
⚫For scoring and interpretation, the following is sample:
⚫The scoring and interpretation used for the questionnaire is presented in Table 1.
Table 1
Scoring and Interpretation
Response Scale Mean Score Interpretation
4 3.50 – 4.00 Strongly Agree
3 2.50 – 3.49 Agree
2 1.50 – 2.49 Disagree
1 1.00 – 1.49 Strongly Disagree
⚫Reminder: Do not use the term “self-constructed questionnaire”. Take note that “the
questionnaire cannot construct itself ”! Instead, you may use “researcher-made
questionnaire” or simply, “survey questionnaire”.
⚫If the questionnaire to be used is standardized, explain how you had acquired the
questionnaire including whether it is in the public domain or you have the permission to use

18. the questionnaire from the copyright owner (author, publisher or both). You also need to
discuss the content of the questionnaire, its reliability, how to administer the questionnaire,
and the scoring and interpretation used by the author of the questionnaire.
Data Gathering Procedure
⚫Discuss here the actual data gathering procedure, for
example, how you had distributed, administered and
retrieved your data gathering instrument (if using a
survey questionnaire). You may start the discussion
here with asking permission from concerned authorities
regarding the actual conduct of data gathering through
letters or personal visits to concerned offices. Include
details such as period (days or months) covered in the
data gathering, where and how this was conducted,
who were involved, time spent by a respondent in
answering the questionnaire or in an interview, retrieval
of the questionnaire and response rate, and the like.
⚫Do not include here your library works; this is not the

19. data gathering that is mentioned here. The data that
need to be discussed how these were gathered are
those data that were subjected for statistical analysis.
⚫Do not also repeat the contents of Data Gathering
Instrument.
Statistical Treatment of Data
⚫This section contains the statistical tools used corresponding to the
research questions in the statement of the problem. There is no need to
define or explain the statistical tools. There is also no need to state the
formula, especially if using statistical software. Just state the statistical
tool and its particular use in your present study.
⚫(The following is an example.)
⚫ The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was employed in
the statistical analysis of data. The following statistical tools were used
in the study: (Sample only: See if these are applicable for your study.)
⚫Frequency and Percentage. This was used to determine the profile …
in terms of …
. ⚫Mean. This was used to assess the … with regard to … .
⚫Independent Samples T-Test. This was used to determine if

20. there is significant difference on … when grouped according to …
.
⚫Analysis of Variance. This was used to determine if there is significant
difference on … when grouped according to … .
⚫Pearson’s Correlation. This was used to determine if there is
significant relationship between … .
⚫A Very Important Note: Different research designs may require
contents of Chapter III that are different from those presented
here.