MABALACAT CITY COLLEGE

Institute of Arts, Sciences and Teacher Education

(IASTE)

MODULE 2
(October 05-10, 2020)

MATH M116
Research in Mathematics

Gracia T. Canlas, MAEd.

Instructor

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 Module 2 – Components of Research Manuscripts
MATH M116 (Research in Mathematics)

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, student should be able to:
1. explain the composition the introduction in research manuscript and how
it should be written;
2. organize the review of related literature;
3. demonstrate skill in acknowledging sources of documentation or citation
of references;
4. explain the importance of theoretical framework and conceptual
framework;
5. write statement of the problem and a hypothesis;
6. formulate the scope and delimitation of the study;
7. formulate the significance of the study; and
8. explain the components of definition of terms and how to writing it.

Overview
In this lesson you will learn basic elements or components of a research manuscript
specifically the elements of chapter one or the background of the study. Starting with
introduction, review of related literature, its theoretical or conceptual framework, statement
of the problem, the hypothesis statement, scope and delimitation, the significance of the
study and definition of terms. All of these mentioned are the basic element of the thesis in
chapter one.

Lesson Proper

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 Background of the Study and Related Literature

 What is the purpose of the Background of the study?

One of the preliminary steps to completing a thesis is the background of the study. The
background of the study includes
1. a review of area being researched,
2. current information surrounding the issue,
3. previous studies on the issue,
4. relevant history on the issue, and
5. effectively set forth the history and background information in the problem. (The
University of Sydney,n.d.)
The purpose of the background of the study is to help you prove the relevance of your
research question and to further develop your thesis.

 Introduction

This is a brief description of what the research proposal is about. It should not be
confused with the background of the study.
In an introduction, the writer should
1. create reader interest in the topic,
2. lay the broad foundation for the problem that leads to the study,
3. place the study within the larger context of the scholarly literature, and
4. reach out to a specific audience.
The introduction doesn’t need to be overly long, a few paragraphs should be enough,
but it is the most critical as it establishes the nature, context, and scope of your study. It
should include:
 Clear Statement of the Problem
 Purpose of the Study
 Definitions
 Significance of the Investigation
 Literature Review
 Questions or Hypothesis

 What is Review of Related Literature?

A literature review is a written summary of journal articles, books, and other
documents that describes the past and current state of information on the topic of your
research study.
It also organizes the literature into subtopics, and documents the need for a proposed
study (Creswell, 2012).

 What is Purpose of Review of Related Literature?

 To document how your study adds to the existing literature.

 To provide evidence that educators need your study.

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  To build your research skills of using the library or databases.
 To learn how other educators compose their research studies.
 To help you find useful examples and models in the literature for your own
research. (Creswell, 2012)

 Sources of Review of Related Literature

 Steps in Writing a Review of Literature

Steps of Writing a Review

1. Identify key terms
 Write a preliminary “working title”.
 Pose a short, general research questions.
 Use words that author report in the literature.
 Look in a catalog of terms to find words that match your topic, e.g. ERIC
database.
 Go to academic library, scan the table of contents of education journals from
the last 7 to 10 years, and look for key terms in titles to the articles.

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 2. Locate literature
 Use academic library.
 Use both primary and secondary sources.
 Search different types of literature.
3. Critically evaluate and select the literature
 Is It a good, accurate source?
 Is it relevant?
4. Organize the literature
 Reproducing, downloading, and filing
 Taking notes and abstracting studies
 Constructing a literature map
5. Write a literature review
 Using a style manual, e.g. APA 6.0 edition
 A style manual provides a structure for citing references, labeling headings,
and constructing tables and figures for a scholarly research report.
 Writing strategies: Extent of the review, types of literature review (thematic
review or study by study review)
 Concluding statement of the review

 Characteristics of the materials cited for literature review

1. The materials must be as recent as possible.
2. Materials must be as objective and unbiased as possible.
3. Materials must be relevant to the study.
4. Materials must not too few but not too many (at least 15 sources).

 Ways of Citing Related Literature and Studies

1. By author or writer
In this method the ideas, facts, or principles, although they have the same meaning,
are
explained or discussed separately and cited in thefootnote with their respective authors or
writers.
Examples:
According to Enriquez, praise helps much in learning, etc., (Enriquez, 1981)
Maglaque found out that praise is an important factor in learning, etc., (Maglaque, 1984)
2. By topic.
In this case, if different authors or writers have the same opinion about the same
topic, the topic is discussed and cited under the names of the authors or writers. This is a
summary of their opinions. This is to avoid separate and long discussions of the same topic.
Example:
It has been found out that praise is an important aid in learning of children. (Enriquez,
1981 & Maglaque, 1984)
3. Chronological.
 Related materials may also be cited chronologically, that is, according to the
year they were written.
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  Materials which were written earlier should be cited first before those which
were written later.
 This can be done especially when citation is by author or writer.
 If citation is by topic, chronological citation can be done in the footnote.

 What to Cite?
It should be emphasized that only the major findings, ideas, generalizations,
principles, or conclusions in related materials relevant to the problem under investigation
should be
discussed in this chapter.
Generally, such findings, ideas, generalizations, principles, or conclusion are
summarized, paraphrased, or synthesized.
 APA Citation Basics
APA style requires authors to use the past tense or present perfect tense when using
signal phrases to describe earlier research, for example, Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998)
has found...
All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the
paper. (Source: Purdue Online Writing Lab )
Short quotations
If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of
publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the
quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of
publication in parentheses.

Example:
– According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially
when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Long quotations
 Place direct quotations that are 40 words, or longer, in a free-standing block of
 typewritten lines, and omit quotation marks.
 Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e.,
in
 the same place you would begin a new paragraph.
 Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any
subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin.
 Maintain double-spacing throughout.
 The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.
Example:
Jones's (1998) study found the following:
Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time
citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students failed to
purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Summary or paraphrase
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 If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference
to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference.
Example:
– According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time
learners.

 Theoretical Framework or Conceptual Framework

From the review of related literature and studies, you may formulate a theoretical
scheme for your research problem.
This scheme is a tentative explanation or theoretical explanation of the phenomenon
or problem and serves as the basis for the formulation research hypotheses.
Thus, the conceptual framework consists of the investigator’s own position on a
problem after his exposure to various theories that have bearing on the problem.
It is the researcher’s new model which has its roots on the previous models which the
researcher had studied. (Sanchez, pp. 14-15)
Conceptual framework is needed for research designs such as experimental, quasi-
experimental, survey and case study.
It portrays a diagrammatic representation in a more vivid way about the study. A
conceptual framework may take different diagrammatic forms.
Example:

 Statement of the Problem

The problem statement is the researcher’s guide during the research process. It is the
verbalization and articulation as well as the analysis of the “questions” in which the
researcher wants the research answer.
The problem statement is divided into the major or main problem and the minor or
sub-problems. The major or main problem is the verbalization of the specific “question”
which the researcher wants to answer. It may be stated declaratively or interrogatively.
Example:
Main Problem (Interrogative)
What are the factors that affect the teaching skills of teachers?

Main Problem (Declarative)

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 This study aims to design and develop an online course in Human Behavior in
the Organization at the Gradate Level.
Now, the statement of the problem is a concise description of the issues that used to
be addressed by the researcher.

 Statement of the Hypothesis

Hypotheses are statements in quantitative research in which the investigator makes a
prediction about the outcome of a relationship among attributes or characteristics.
They are based on results from past research and literature where researchers have
found certain results and can now offer predictions as to what other researchers will find
when they repeat the study with new people or at new sites. (Creswell, 2012)
A hypothesis is, simply put, a prediction of some sort regarding the possible outcomes
of a study. A research question is often restated as a hypothesis.
For example:
Question: “Do individuals who see themselves as socially attractive want their
romantic partners also to be socially attractive?”

Hypothesis: “Individuals who see themselves as socially attractive will want their
romantic partners also to be (as judged by others) socially attractive.”
(Creswell, 2012)

Null and Alternative Hypotheses

A null hypothesis makes predictions that of all possible researchers might study,
there is no relationship between independent and dependent variables or no difference
between groups of an independent variable or a dependent variable.

An alternative hypothesis is any hypothesis other than the null. If the null hypothesis
is not accepted, then the alternative hypothesis is used.

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  Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The scope of the study (time /space or geography or disciplinary) refers to the
boundaries or limits within which the study needs to be kept.
The reasons for such limits may be geographical, historical, ideological, person or
any other. The researcher focuses on the precise issue he/she intends to consider.
The limitations of the study are those characteristics of design or methodology that
impacted or influenced the interpretation of the findings from your research. Possible
limitations:
 Constraints on generalizability due to sample size
 Lack of available/reliable data
 Lack of prior research or studies on the study
 Methods used to collect the data (internal and external validity)
 Self-reported data (bias)

 Significance of the Study

 A research should show its contributions in:
 New knowledge relating to the theory
 New teaching strategy, products, instrument, instructional
material, etc.
 Who (what individuals or groups) can use this new knowledge or
information yielded by the research to change or improve the present
situation? How will the study contribute to the improvement of the
profession? Like to policy makers, educators, administrators, teachers,
students, etc.

 Definition of Terms
All key terms in the problem statement and hypothesis should be defined as clearly
as possible.
A term should be defined by stating the actions, processes, or operations used to
measure or identify examples of it.

Activity
1. Answer worksheet 2 and accomplish the required task uploaded in EDMODO.
2. Work in groups with 3 members only and come up with a conceptual framework for
teaching Math (for BSED Math3), Social Studies (for BSED SS3) and (for BTVTED3).

REFERENCE
Books
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 Almeida, Adelaida B. et al. (2016). Research Fundamentals From Concept to Output.
Quezon City: Adriana Publishing, Inc.
Broto, Antonio. (2008). Statistics, Made Simple. Mandaluyong City: National Book Store
Coolidge Frederick L. (2011). Statistics, A Gentle Introduction USA: SAGE Publications.
De Guzman, Allan B. Ph.D. (2012). Writing for International Publication. University of
Santo Tomas
Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational research: planning, conducting and evaluating
quantitative and qualitative research. (4th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

OFFICIAL MCC MODULE DISCLAIMER

It is not the intention of the author/s nor the publisher of this module to have monetary gain in using
the textual information, imageries, and other references used in its production. This module is only for the
exclusive use of a bona fide student of Mabalacat City College.

In addition, this module or no part of it thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, and/or otherwise, without
the prior permission of Mabalacat City College.

Prepared by:

GRACIA T. CANLAS, MAED

Instructor

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