CHHOSING A RESEARCH

• Possible Research Topics


  • Social Life in Planet Mars
  • History of the Jose Rizal Monument
  • The Social Effects of Facebook in Private High School Students in Manila
  • A Study of North Korea's Nuclear Bomb
  • Prostitution in the United States
• Before conducting research, you should have a topic to pursue.
• Topic


  The subject or subject matter of a proposed research study
• Neuman (2007), pp. 86-87
• Persons or categories of people to be studied

  "who are the persons that I want to study?"
• in social research, it is important to identify the subgroups or categories of people to be studied.
• individual persons and groups like a community or a social organization can be the focus of the study.
• Examples of specific categories of people


  • students
  • parents
  • teachers
  • homosexuals
  • single mothers
  • senior citizens geographically located in a specific area
• Place of study


  "where is the specific geographical location of study?" to limit the scope of the research.
• the geographical location or place of the study can be your own barangay or neighborhood or your own city, town, province, region or country.
• Time period of the research


  "how long will study take?"
• Social research has a specific historical period or time frame. One cannot study a particular topic in its entire historical period.
• Research topics revolve around a particular human interest.
• Research must then identify the specific human activity or human interest that they want to look into.


  "what human activity or interest do I want to study?"
• Social scientists can look into social artifacts or any product of social beings or human social behavior as a topic for research.
• Social interactions are another form of social artifacts.
• Research must then identify the specific human activity or human interest that they want to look into.


  "what particular social artifact or interaction will I focus on?"
• Some guidelines for developing a research topic


  • Check resources that are related to your topic in the library
  • Sometimes, your topic can be so specific that it becomes difficult for you to research it. You may want to expand the topic
  • Avoid topics that you do not have any knowledge at all
  • Researchers must consider the availability of sources
  • Choose a topic, that is not vague, intangible, or debatable or is not easily answerable
  • Choose a topic that is not yet overly written on by other researchers in a field
  • Ensure that you have the necessary funds or resources to collect data over a period of time
  • Consider the resources or budget needed to analyze data or Information gathered
• The title should encapsulate the main idea of the research.
• Characteristics of a good research title


  • The title should be in the form of a concise statement that explains the essence of the topic
  • The title should identify the actual variables or theoretical issues being studied in the research
  • The title should be self-explanatory
  • A good research title must be clearly phrased. It must not be vague or wordy
  • Avoid titles that do not provide any useful purpose
  • Do not develop a very long title because it can mislead the readers
  • Do not begin the title with phrases like "A Study of" or "An Experimental Investigation of"
  • Do not use abbreviations in the title. Spell out all the words and acronyms used
  • The recommended length of a research title is 10 to 12 words