Capstone

• Experiment: a scientific procedure undertaken to make discovery, test a hypothesis or demonstrate a known fact under controlled conditions by the researcher
• Variables:

  • Independent variable: also called cause variable, manipulated by the researcher to cause changes to the dependent variable
  • Dependent variable: also known as the outcome variable, measured in the study
• Scientific Problem: any problem encountered in daily life that can be addressed through experimentation or scientific means
• Observations:

  • Scientific names of living organisms are given in italicized format
  • Substantial words are in capital letters
  • The title must consist of the dependent and independent variables being tested in the study, following the format: effect of independent variable to the dependent variable
• To transform a problem/question into a research title:

  1. Identify research variables

  2. Mention the expected effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable
• Tips in writing the title:

  • Avoid using abbreviations
  • Write scientific names properly if needed
  • The title is written in one line as much as possible, following the inverted pyramid form
• Considerations in choosing a problem:

  1. Curiosity

  2. Necessity

  3. Time

  4. Fund

  5. Facilities
• Functions of the Review of Related Literature (RRL):

  1. Provide justification of the study

  2. Identify gaps, problems, and needs of related studies

  3. Provide a rationale and reasons for conducting the study

  4. Serve as a basis to support findings
• Characteristics of Materials Cited:

  1. Materials should be as recent as possible, up to 10 years back

  2. Materials must be objective and unbiased

  3. Materials should be relevant to the study

  4. Coherence principle must be observed in writing the literature review
• Types of Sources:

  • Primary sources: Published Research Paper, Textbook, Conference Proceedings, Interview Transcript
  • Secondary sources: Newspaper, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Literature Review Articles
• Integrity of a Literature Review:

  • Good sources: Research Journal, Book, Technical Report, Online Article
  • Bad sources: Blog/Vlog, Folklore, Facebook Page, Tiktok Video
• Review on Academic Writing includes:

  • Plagiarism
  • Copyright
  • APA Citation Style
  • Paraphrasing
• Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own
• Copyright refers to the legal set of rights belonging to the creator or owner of a work
• APA Citation Style is an author/year-based style emphasizing the author and the publication date
• Paraphrasing is expressing the meaning of a message using different words to achieve better clarity
• Approaches in writing the RRL:

  • Chronological Organization
  • Site Organization
  • Thematic Approach
• Definition of Hypothesis: an intelligent guess, a prediction the researcher makes about the expected relationships or differences among variables in clear, concise, and understandable language
• Importance of Hypothesis:

  • Make predictions about the outcome of the experiment or what the results are expected to show
  • Provide tentative explanations of facts and phenomena that can be tested and validated
  • Provide direction to the research and define relevant and irrelevant aspects
  • Provide a basis for reporting the conclusions of the study
• Reasons to develop a hypothesis:

  • To compare variables
  • To relate variables
  • To describe variables
• Types of Hypothesis:

  • Null Hypothesis (H0) states there is no relationship or difference between variables
  • Alternative hypothesis (HA) states there is a relationship or difference between variables (opposite of null hypothesis)
• Outcome Decision:

  • If nothing happened, accept the null hypothesis
  • If something happened, reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis
• Examples of Hypothesis:

  • "A new pain reliever drug will be undergoing a clinical trial."
  • The pain reliever drug can reduce pain
• Examples of Hypothesis:

  • It is being tested if papaya (Carica papaya) sap inhibits the growth of E. coli in vivo.
  • "It is being tested if papaya (Carica papaya) sap can inhibit the growth of E. coli in vitro"
• Examples of Hypothesis:

  • "An improvised energy saving device was created to decrease the power consumption of common home appliances."
  • The improvised energy saving device can reduce the power consumption of appliances in kilowatt-hours
• General Objectives:

  • Major objective of the study
  • Research title in sentence form
• Specific Objectives:

  • More detailed
  • Indicates variables being targeted in the study
  • Arranged in some order
• Methodology:

  • Provides methods and procedures used in the research study, detailing research design, equipment, materials, variables, and actions taken by the researcher
  • Should provide enough information for other researchers to replicate the experiment
• Definition of Terms:

  1. Experimental unit: subject of the study/main material used in the experiment

  2. Treatment: procedure done on the experimental unit
• Before designing an experiment, you should:

  1. Ask the questions you would like to be answered

  2. Make an educated guess or state your research hypothesis

  3. Make a detailed description and explanation of the procedure of your experiment
• Experimental procedure consists of four parts:

  1. Selection of appropriate materials for the test

  2. Specification of the variable to be measured

  3. Selection of the procedure to measure the variable

  4. Specification of the procedure to determine if the measurements support the hypothesis
• Research Design:

  • Complete sequence of steps or procedures needed to obtain data during the investigation
  • Guides experimentation and validates statistical tests
  • Each problem requires a unique design and embodies the research proposal
• Principles of a Research Design:

  1. Replication: repetition to estimate variations among observations on the group of subjects

  2. Randomization: assignment of experimental units to treatments by chance to reduce bias

  3. Local control: balancing, grouping, and blocking of experimental units homogeneously

  4. Control of extraneous variables: provision of controls to ensure no outside variables affect experimental subjects
• Types of Research Design:

  1. Completely Randomized Design (CRD): treatments assigned randomly without restrictions, hard to produce homogenous characteristics

  2. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD): experimental units divided into homogenous groups called blocks, widely used in field researches
• General Considerations in Constructing the Methodology:

  • A statement of results of statistical analysis should justify interpretations and conclusions
  • Clear description for all biological, analytical, and statistical procedures
  • Specify statistical model classes and experimental units
  • Provide a publication reference for previously used experimental methodologies
  • Define any restrictions used in evaluating parameters
• Tips in Writing the Methodology:

  • Should be written in past tense except for the research plan
  • Avoid unnecessary detail not relevant to the experiment
  • Use APA format
  • Proofread for typos, grammar problems, and spelling