Economic Research

• Research


  Careful, critical, disciplined inquiry, varying in technique and method according to the nature and conditions of the problem identified, directed toward the clarification or resolution (or both) of a problem
• Research


  The systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic or problem. After a careful, systematic search for pertinent information or data on a specific topic or problem, and after the research worker has analyzed and interpreted the data, he eventually faces another essential task- that of preparing the research report
• Research


  The process of gathering data or information to solve a particular or specific problem in a scientific manner
• Research


  A systematic study or investigation of something for the purpose of answering questions posed by the researcher
• Research


  An attempt to gain solutions to problems. More precisely, it is the collection of data in a rigorously controlled situation for the purpose of prediction or explanation
• Purposes of research


  • To discover new facts about known phenomena
  • To find answers to problems which are only partially solved by existing methods and information
  • Improve existing techniques and develop new instruments or products
  • To discover previously unrecognized substances or elements
  • Discover pathways of action of known substances and elements
  • To order related, valid generalizations into systematized science
  • To provide basis for decision-making in business, industry, education, government, and in other undertakings
  • To satisfy the researcher's curiosity
  • To find answers to queries by means of scientific methods
  • To acquire a better and deeper understanding about one phenomenon that can be known or understood better
  • To expand or verify existing knowledge
  • To improve educational practices for raising the quality of school products
  • To promote health and prolong life
  • To provide man with more of his basic needs
  • To make work, travel, and communication faster, easier, and more comfortable
• Characteristics of good research


  • Systematic
  • Controlled
  • Empirical
  • Analytical
  • Objective, unbiased, and logical
  • Employs hypothesis
  • Employs quantitative or statistical methods
  • Original work
  • Done by an expert
  • Accurate investigation, observation and description
  • Patient and unhurried activity
  • Requires an effort-making capacity
  • Requires courage
• Scientific method of research

  1. Determining the problem

  2. Forming a hypothesis

  3. Doing a Library Search

  4. Designing the Study

  5. Developing the instruments for Collecting Data

  6. Collecting the Data

  7. Analyzing the Data

  8. Determining implications and conclusions from the findings

  9. Making recommendations for further research
• Research problem


  Any significant, perplexing and challenging situation, real or artificial, the solution of which requires reflective thinking
• Research problem


  A perplexing situation after it has been translated into a question or series of questions that help determine the direction of subsequent inquiry
• Elements of a research problem

  • Aim or purpose
  • Subject matter or topic to be investigated
  • Place or locale
  • Period or time
  • Population
• Guidelines in the selection of a research problem or topic


  • Must be chosen by the researcher
  • Must be within the interest of the researcher
  • Must be within the specialization of the researcher
  • Must be within the competence of the researcher to tackle
  • Must be within the ability of the researcher to finance, otherwise he must be able to find funding for his research
  • Researchable and manageable
  • Can be completed in a reasonable period of time unless it is longitudinal research which takes a long time to completion
  • Significant, important, and relevant to the present time, situation, timely, and of current interest
  • The results are practical and implementable
  • It requires original, critical, and reflective thinking to solve it
  • It can be delimited to suit the resources of the researchers but big or large enough to be able to give significant, valid, and reliable results and generalizations
  • It must contribute to the national development goals for the improvement of the quality of human life
  • It must contribute to the fund of human knowledge
  • It must show or pave the way for the solution of the problem or problems intended to be solved
  • It must not undermine the moral and spiritual values of the people
  • It must not advocate any change in the present order of things by means of violence but by peaceful means
  • There must be a return of some kind to the researcher
  • There must be a consideration of the hazards involved, either physical, social, or legal
• Guidelines in writing the title


  • Formulated before the start of the research work
  • Must contain the subject matter of the study, the locale of the study, the population involved, and the period when the data were gathered or will be gathered
  • Must be broad enough to include all aspects of the subject matter studied
  • Must be as brief and concise as possible
  • Avoid using the terms "an analysis of," "a study of," "an investigation of," and the like
  • If the title contains more than one line, it must be written like an inverted pyramid, all words in capital letters
• Statement of the problem


  It is a part of the research wherein the general and specific subproblems are formulated
• Guidelines in formulation of the statement of the problem


  • The general problem and the specific sub-problems or questions should be formulated first
  • Each specific questions must be clear and unequivocal, that it has only one meaning
  • Each specific questions is researchable apart from the other questions, that is, answers to each specific question can be found even without considering the other questions
  • Each specific question must be based upon known facts and phenomena
  • Answers to each specific question can be interpreted apart from the answers to other specific questions
  • Answers to each question must contribute to the development of the whole research problem or topic
  • Summing up the answers to all the specific questions will give a complete development of the entire study
  • The number of specific questions should be enough to cover the development of the whole research problem or study
  • Generally, there should be a general statement of the problem and then this should be broken up into as many subproblems or specific questions as necessary
• Assumptions


  Self-evident truths which are based upon a known fact or phenomenon
• Guidelines in the use of basic assumptions

  • You cannot assume the value of your study
  • You cannot assume the reliability of the instruments you propose to use in your research
  • You cannot assume that validity of basic data
  • You cannot assume that your population is typical
  • An assumption is not tested, neither is it defended nor argued
• Hypothesis


  Tentative conclusion or answer to a specific question raised at the beginning of the investigation. It is an educated guess about the answer to a specific question
• Guidelines in formulation of hypothesis

  • In experimental investigations, hypotheses have to be explicit, they have to be expressed. They have to be expressed also in comparative and correlational studies
  • In descriptive and historical investigations, hypotheses are seldom expressed if not entirely absent. The subproblems or specific questions raised before the start of the investigation and stated under the statement of the problem serve as the hypotheses
  • Hypothesis are usually stated in the null form because testing a null hypothesis is easier than a hypothesis in the operational form
  • Hypotheses are formulated from the specific questions upon which they are based
• Importance of hypothesis

  • They help the researcher in designing his study: what methods, research instruments, sampling design, and statistical instruments to use, what date to gather, etc.
  • They serve as bases for determining assumptions
  • They serve as bases for determining the relevance of data
  • They serve as bases for the explanation or discussion about the data gathered
  • They help or guide the researcher in consolidating his findings and in formulating his conclusions
• Parts of Chapter 1

  • Introduction
  • Statement of the Problem
  • Assumptions and Hypothesis
  • Significance or Importance of the Study
  • Definitions of Terms
  • Scope and Delimitation of the Study
  • Theoretical Framework
  • Conceptual Framework
• Contents of Introduction

  • Presentation of the problem
  • The existence of an unsatisfactory condition is a felt problem that needs a solution
  • Rationale of the study
  • Historical background of the problem
  • A desire to have a deeper and clearer understanding of a situation, circumstance, or phenomenon
  • A desire to find a better way of doing something or of improving a product
  • A desire to discover something
  • Geographical conditions of the study locale
  • A link between the introduction and the statement of the problem
• Contents of Statement of the Problem

  • There should be a general statement of the whole problem followed by the specific questions or subproblems into which the general problem is broken up
• Contents of Assumptions and Hypothesis

  • Historical and descriptive investigations do not need explicit hypotheses and assumptions. Only experimental studies need expressly written assumptions and hypotheses
• Contents of Importance or Significance of the Study

  • The rationale, timeliness, and/or relevance of the study
  • Possible solutions to existing problems or improvement to unsatisfactory conditions
  • Group of people who will be benefitted and how they are going to be benefitted
  • Possible contribution to the fund of knowledge
  • Possible implications
• Guidelines in Definition of Terms

  • Only terms, words, or phrases which have special or unique meaning in the study are defined
  • Terms should be defined operationally, that is, how they are used in the study
  • The researcher may develop his own definition from the characteristics of the term defined
  • Definitions may be taken from encyclopedias, books, magazines and newspapers articles, dictionaries, and other publications but the researchers must acknowledge their sources
  • Definitions should be as brief, clear, and unequivocal as possible
  • Acronyms should always be spelled out fully especially if it is not commonly known or if it is used for the first time
• Contents of Scope and Delimitations of the Study

  • A brief statement of the general purpose of the study
  • The subject matter and topics studied and discussed
  • The locale of the study, where the data were gathered, or the entity to which the data belong
  • The population or universe from which the respondents were selected. This must be large enough to make generalizations significant
  • The period of the study. This is the time, either months or years, during which the data were gathered
• Limitations of the Study

  Weaknesses of the study beyond the control of the researcher
• Theoretical Framework


  From the review of related literature and studies, the researcher may formulate a theoretical scheme for his research problem. This scheme is a tentative explanation or theoretical explanation of the phenomenon or problem and serves as the basis for the formulation of a research hypothesis
• Conceptual Framework


  The investigator's own position on a problem after his exposure to various theories that have a bearing on the problem. It is the researcher's new model which has its roots in the previous models which the researcher had studied
• Conceptual Framework


  A visual tool that helps you analyze and get a comprehensive understanding. This analytical tool can be used in different variations and contacts, so it is useful in many fields of work. It is commonly used to visually explain systems, relationships, concepts, and ideas in an organized way
• Paradigm


  A diagrammatic representation of a conceptual framework. It depicts in a more vivid way what the conceptual framework wants to convey
• Importance, Purposes, and Functions of Related Literature and Studies

  • They help or guide the researcher in searching for or selecting a better research problem or topic
  • They help the investigator understand his topic for research better
  • They ensure that there will be no duplication of other studies
  • They help and guide the researcher in locating more sources of related information
  • They help and guide the researcher in making his research design especially in formulating specific questions, assumptions and hypotheses, conceptual framework, selection and application of methods, sampling, instruments, statistical procedures, analysis and interpretation of data, summary of findings, conclusions, and recommendations
  • They help and guide the researcher in making comparison between his findings with the findings of other researchers on similar studies with the end in view of formulating generalizations or principles which are the contributions of the study to the fund of knowledge
• Characteristics of Related Literature and Studies

  • The surveyed materials must be as recent as possible
  • Materials reviewed must be objective and unbiased
  • Materials surveyed must be relevant to the study
  • Surveyed materials must have been based upon genuinely original and true facts or data to make them valid and reliable
  • Reviewed materials must be not too few nor too many
• Sources of Related Literature and Studies

  • Books, encyclopedias, almanacs, and other similar references
  • Articles published in professional journals, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, and other publications
  • Manuscripts, monographs, memoirs, speeches, letters, and diaries
  • Unpublished theses and dissertations
• Related literature and studies

  • The surveyed materials must be as recent as possible
  • Materials reviewed must be objective and unbiased
  • Materials surveyed must be relevant to the study
  • Surveyed materials must have been based upon genuinely original and true facts or data to make them valid and reliable
  • Reviewed materials must be not too few nor too many
• Sources of related literature and studies

  • Books, encyclopedias, almanacs, and other similar references
  • Articles published in professional journals, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, and other publications
  • Manuscripts, monographs, memoirs, speeches, letters, and diaries
  • Unpublished theses and dissertations
  • The Constitution, and laws and statutes of the land
  • Bulletins, circulars, and orders emanating from government offices and departments
  • Records of schools, public and private, especially reports of their activities
  • Reports from seminars, educational or otherwise
  • Official reports of all kinds, educational, social, economic, scientific, technological, political, etc. from the government and other entities
• Procedure for reviewing the literatures

  1. Define Your Research Question or Topic

  2. Conduct a Comprehensive Literature Search

  3. Screen and Select Sources

  4. Organize Your Sources

  5. Read and Summarize

  6. Synthesize the Literature

  7. Identify Gaps and Questions

  8. Construct a Conceptual Framework

  9. Write the Literature Review

  10. Cite and Reference Properly

  11. Revise and Edit

  12. Update Throughout the Research Process
• Method of research

  Historical, descriptive or experimental
• The descriptive method of research was used in this study