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Republic of the Philippines, Department of Education, REGION V, SCHOOLS DIVISION OF SORSOGON, DONSOL VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL, GIMAGAAN ANNEX, 3rd Quarter, Learning Activity Sheet (LAS) 4, *The Statement of the Problem, *Scope and Delimitation, I. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPT, For every problem, there would be an answer. And for every answer, there could be a question. A problem without a clear question in mind is like you are seeking for an answer in a directionless manner. Hence, as a student-researcher, you must remember that establishing research questions may guide you in your quest to address some academic issues. Remember that these questions may serve as your compass as if you were navigating at sea in order to reach the target destination., Now that you have already had enough reasons and justifications to pursue a study so as to address a problem which you perceived from your environment, this is a time for you to concretize your study by crafting your problem through specifying research questions. Hence, in this part of the module, you will be supplemented with additional knowledge on how to state your research problem and questions., This learning activity was also designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master the writing scope and delimitation. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook you are now using., II. LEARNING SKILLS FROM MELCs, This LAS is designed and written to help you in stating research questions related to the problem that you would like to investigate., At the end of the module, you are expected to:, state research questions, indicate scope and delimitation of research, III. ACTIVITIES, A. Let Us Review, A1. Identify what part of the research introduction is being asked from Column A by selecting the correct term from Column B. Write the letter of your answer on your paper., Column A Column B, 1. This refers to the major task of the researcher. a. rationale of the study, 2. This includes related theories, conceptual and b. seriousness of the problem, research literature, 3. This presents the reason why the researcher c. literature foundation of the, decides to look for solutions to the problem. study, 4. This defines the geographic boundaries of the d. general objective of the, research problem, 5. This identifies the intensity of the problem. e. setting of the problem, A2. This activity is Pictionary. You will be given picture clues to identify the word being illustrated. Write your answers on your paper., B. Let Us Study, Statement of the Problem, After the researcher has clearly presented the rationale of the problem, the formulation of the targeted and well-defined problem must follow. This well-defined problem is commonly pertained to the “Statement of the Problem.” Stating clearly the problem can make the vagueness of the study be clarified. Further, this section allows the researcher to present other essential elements of research undertaking such as the major variables, objectives, and appropriate methodology., Writing the Problem Statement in a Qualitative Research, In formulating the problem statement in a research paper, there are two types of problems which should be considered. These are the general problem and the specific problems., General problem pertains to the opening paragraph that gives specific details on other essential elements which are the purpose, major variables, participants, setting, and time coverage of the study. The said elements serve as a guide in order to properly formulate the general problem. Cristobal and Cristobal (2017) from their book Practical Research 1 for Senior High School presented guidelines in the writing of the general problem. These are as follows:, 1. The general problem should clearly state the main task/s of the researcher., 2. The general problem should present the major variable/s related to the phenomenon to be investigated., 3. The general problem should identify the participants of the study., 4. The general problem should state the research setting as well as the time period of the study., 5. The general problem may indicate the intended output of the study such as an intervention program, module, policies, etc., An example of a general problem is presented below., to determine - main task, functions, emojis, online communication - major variables, grade 11 students - participants, Lamao National High School - setting, school year 2019-2020 - time period, learning content presentation strategy - intended output, After formulating the general problem of a study, enumeration of its specific problems should follow. Unlike the general problem which is stated in a declarative form, the specific problems are stated as questions. These formulated questions, moreover, should all be anchored on the general problem. With this, the researcher will be guided on how he/she will seek an answer to the problem., In addition, the researcher must also know that a specific question to be formulated must be a researchable question, that is, it should begin with words such as “what” and “how.” In this case, the researcher may be able to solicit responses which can ensure detailed data necessary to the study. Non-researchable questions, as in, those which are answerable by “yes” or “no” should be avoided., Examples of non-researchable and researchable questions are presented below., Non-Researchable Questions:, 1. Do the participants use social media platforms for their communication purposes?, 2. Are the participants using emojis in their online communication?, 3. Can the participants understand the meaning of emojis used in conversations?, 4. Will the emojis be used for a language content learning presentation strategy?, This study aims to determine the functions of emojis in an online communication., The study was conducted among the different strands of grade 11 students in the senior high school department of Lamao National High School during the school year 2019-2020. The result of the study was used as a basis for proposing a learning content presentation strategy in language teaching., Researchable Questions:, 1. What are the most frequently used emojis by the participants in the corpus?, 2. What are the pragmatic functions of emojis in the corpus?, 3. How do multiple emojis affect the meaning of the discourse?, 4. What learning content presentation strategy can be proposed based on the results of the study?, Now that you have already known the considerations in stating a research problem, it is no doubt that you may begin to concretize your study by specifying your general problem and its corresponding specific problems/questions., Content of Scope and Delimitation, Scope and delimitation is an informative part of your research. It is informative because it is to where you declare the things you have to carry out and follow through the course of research. I am sure, you are wondering why there is a need for us to declare all of these to our readers. Likewise, you are puzzled what are the elements of your research that are needed to be included? Well, let us deal with them one by one., Let us first dissect “scope and delimitation”., Scope + Delimitation, When we talk about the scope of research, it commonly refers to the depth your research area or parameters. This includes restriction of the target population, research local, specified duration, design, procedure, and instrument used., 1. Population –According to Majid (2018), this stands for the entire pool from which the sample is drawn., Consider these examples:, a. Schools operating in Bataan (Private and Public), b. Senior High School Students of a School, c. Grade 10 Students in a School Division, d. Tricycle Drivers operating in a Barangay, e. All Working Students in a grade level, 2. Research Locale – It refers to the particular location where the study is conducted., Consider these examples:, Lamao National High School Schools Division of Bataan, Dinalupihan Region III – Central Luzon, Pampanga Balanga City, Limay Senior High School University of the Assumption, Barangay St. Francis II Bataan Peninsula State University, 3. Specific Duration. This stands for the exclusive time frame when the research is conducted., Consider these examples:, May 20 to 22 2020, School Year 2020 to 2021, From 2015 to 2020, From January 2020 to May 20202, 4. Research Method – This refers to the systematic plan for conducting research which includes strategies, process, techniques, and procedures for collecting and analyzing data (MacDonald and Headlam 2008). Here are the four (4) most commonly used qualitative designs that you can use., a. Ethnography – If your research is about a description or investigation about customs of individual and culture, this design can be used (Elis and Bochner 1996)., b. Phenomenology – If your research is about the commonality of lived experience within a group of individuals or description of a particular phenomenon, this research design can be used (Singh 2018)., c. Case Study – If your research is about an investigation of a phenomenon within the context of real-life situation, you can use this design (Kothari 2004)., d. Grounded Theory – If your research aims toward a development of a theory in an inductive manner, you can use this design (VanderStoep and Johnston 2009)., 5. Protocols Followed. This refers to the standard procedure, system, or rules that you follow in gathering data. It can be the permission in the conduct of the study, communication letter to the respondents, or agreement on the conduct of interview., 6. Data Gathering Procedure. This refers to the step-by-step procedures that you employ before and during the data gathering., 7. Instrument. These are measurement devices that you use in your research. It can be in a form of test, survey, questionnaire, and the like. However, in qualitative research, you as the researcher is the instrument, and your interview guide serve as a tool in gathering the data (Bahrami, Soleimani, Yaghoobzadeh, & Ranjbar, 2016), 8. Data Analysis. These are the systematical processes you employ to describe or interpret your data. It can be thematic network analysis, dendogramming, structural analysis, text analysis, and Collaizi procedure., On the other hand when we talk about delimitation, it refers to choices made by researcher that serves as boundary (Simon 2011). This includes research objectives, questions, variables, theoretical objectives you adopted, target samples, and justifications that limits the scope of the study. Commonly, research objectives, and description of variables are mentioned while research questions are just reflected on the set objectives. Variable are also explained and declared, as well as to the theoretical objectives of the study. On the other hand, sampling method, target sample size, and justifications in choosing the above mentioned scope are provided to clearly set the parameter of the study., In some researches, instead of scope and delimitation, they use scope and limitation., The term limitation is about the external and internal influences that researcher has no control of. They can be shortcomings, conditions or influences that cannot be avoided due to the limitation of the study. Thus, these limitations is a declaration of the possible influences to the result of the study., Writing Scope and Delimitation, Writing scope and delimitation does not require you extraordinary skills in writing. You just need to have a clear picture on how you are going to do your research. Most probably, if you happened to read other researches, you would notice they have different ways of formulating it. Some begin with the methods of research and end with the instrument, others start with research locale and end with the declaration of the protocols followed. However, one thing is common among them, their content are the same. Therefore, this implies that there is no prescribed way of making it. As long as the necessary elements are declared and briefly discussed, that is already a good scope and delimitation. It is because this part of research intends to inform the readers about the parameter of your research., Commonly, scope and delimitation is written in three (3) paragraphs. The first paragraph contains methods, research design, research locale, time duration, population, sampling and class size. The second paragraph includes the instrument used, validation and protocols followed in the conduct of the study. The last paragraph is the declaration of data gathering and analysis. It is important that you need to provide proper justifications of the elements you will be using. It is done through the wisdom of the experts – citation., Before writing the first paragraph, it is advised that you must perform brainstorming of what you are going to write. Brainstorming is just simply writing down what comes to your mind. But this time, let us perform brainstorming by answering some question. For example you are conducting a research about the lived experience about verbal bullying of the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Grade 11 students in a province, how are you going to make the scope and delimitation? Now, let us begin with the first paragraph. Remember that the first paragraph contains methods, research design, research locale, time duration, population, sampling and class size., These are the answers that you need to know before writing your scope and delimitation. The information would give you a clear picture of what you are going to write., If you are going to write the information gathered, the first paragraph of the scope and delimitation will be like this …, Did you notice how terms give justifications? The underlined sentences serve as your scope and delimitation. They limit down the scope of the study., On the second paragraph, you need to remember that it contains instrument used, validation and protocols followed in the conduct of the study., The 4th figure answers the 3rd figure. If you are going to write the information gathered, the second paragraph of the scope and delimitation will be like this …, On the last paragraph, you need to remember that it contains the declaration of data gathering and analysis., Let us put together what we have created. However, I’ll be using future tense for you to have pattern for your thesis proposal., C. Let Us Practice, Identify the elements by analyzing the general problem provided below. Write your answers on your paper., 1. main task : _________________________, 2. major variable : _________________________, 3. participants : _________________________, 4. setting : _________________________, 5. intended output : ______________________, D. Let Us Remember, Summarize your thoughts using this home graphic organizer. Copy and answer the illustration on your paper., E. Let Us Practice More, Read carefully the scope and delimitation below. Write “A” if the underlined word is population, “B” for research locale, “C” for specific duration, “D” for research method, “E” for protocols followed, “F” for data gathering procedure, “G” for instrument, “H” for research objective, and “I” for data analysis. Write your answers on your paper., IV. ASSESSMENT, A. Write True if the given statement is correct and False if not. Write your answers on your paper., 1. The general problem of a study indicates what phenomenon will be investigated., 2. Stating a general problem requires identifying the participants of the study., 3. Specific problems are stated in declarative form., 4. Questions begin with “what” or “how” are non-researchable type., 5. A research variable stated in the general problem may exceed one., B. Write R if the given question is a researchable type and N if not. Write your answers on your paper., 6. Should all students use social media platforms for learning purposes?, 7. Is playing mobile games helping students to think critically?, 8. How do senior high school students respond to online learning?, 9. Do all students have internet access at home?, 10. What are the common preparations done by senior high school students towards the new normal type of schooling?, C. Write a three (3) paragraph scope and delimitation having 4 sentences each using the information below. Write your composition on your paper., 1st Paragraph, qualitative research case study, Bataan S.Y. 2020-2021, working students study habits, COVID 19 pandemic criterion sampling, 2nd Paragraph, interview guide researcher-made instrument, 5 questions consent and assent, 3rd Paragraph, focus group discussion Facebook Video Conferencing, thematic network analysis unanimity of the participants, Scope and Delimitation, _________________________________________________________________________, _________________________________________________________________________, D. Based from the Research Title your group had developed, write the statement of the problem and its scope and delimitation., V. RUBRIC FOR SCORING, VI. KEY TO CORRECTION