The Introduction

BEGINNING OF THE RESEARCH
The first chapter of the research paper is entitled "The Problem" or "The Problem and Its Background." Its
purpose is to introduce the problem and clarify important variables, its delimitations, and its significance to the
field of study. It has the following essential elements:
1. Introduction
2. Statement of the problem
3. Scope and delimitation
4. Significance of the study
5. Notes in Chapter I
It should also be noted that the researcher has to introduce the different elements of the first chapter by
giving a brief description of each element, so that the reader knows what to expect from the chapter.
Example:
This chapter presents the different essential elements: the introduction, which contains the rationale
(an explanation of the reasons for the conduct of the research); the review of literature and statistical
foundation; the statement of the general and specific problems; the scope and delimitation which identifies the
major variables, sub-variables and the indicators; the significance of the study which enumerates the
beneficiaries of the study and the corresponding benefits each will receive; and lastly, the notations.
INTRODUCTION
The introduction is important in establishing the cognitive setting of the research. It has the following elements:
1. Rationalization of the need to research on the problem.

2. Clarification of the important terminologies for the reader to easily understand what the research is
about.
3. Establishment of the degree of seriousness of the problem which prompted the researcher to look for
solutions.
The following questions can aid the researcher in formulating the introduction:
1. What is the rationale of the problem? This question is answered by sharing the reasons why the
researcher decided to look for solutions to the problem. A rationale may include the narration of personal
experiences, a description of an article read, a scene witnessed, a news heard, or a theory that needs to
be clarified. The research existing and prevailing problem based on his or her experience. The scope may
be focal national, or international Ideally, the rationale can start from a global perspective to a more
personal one.
Example:
As a Grade 12 student, Arjohn David, experienced some difficulties in performing well because of
various factors such as the attitude of his teachers as well as their teaching methods, the absence of laboratory
facilities, and inad equacy of books in the library. He is having difficulties in his quizzes and class performance.
2. What is the setting of the problem? The setting forms part of the delimitation of thestudy. It defines the
geographic boundaries and certain demographic characteristics of the research. This describes the place
where the research was conducted, since the setting has a significant bearing on the variables being
studied. In the description of the setting, its distinctive characteristics must be highlighted.
Example:
Puting Capunitan Elementary School is one of the barrio schools in Orion, Bataan where most
enrollees are from disadvantaged families whose immediate ancestors are either laborers or fisher folks. This
school is one of the schools with poorly performing students in their division according to the Department of
Education.
3. What is the basic literature foundation of the study? This is different from the review of the related
theories, conceptual literature, and research literature. This part seeks to provide the researcher clarity
on the terms or variables used in the study. The terms and variables must be clear to the researcher for an
easy understanding of the readers. As such, sufficient background can assist the investigator in
determining the boundaries of the study. This part is derived from different literature sources. The use of
various references is crucial in this part of the first chapter.
Example:
As teaching is considered to be a complex activity (Medley, as cited in Iqbal, 1996), the scholars and
researchers in the field of education have since long been exploring into and analyzing the teaching
phenomenon. Teaching is an arrangement and manipulation of a situation in which a learner tries to overcome
the learning problems. Teaching is also a multidimensional set of activities intended to facilitate learning
(Torrington et al., 2003). However, it is universally recognized that teachers' instructional performance plays a
key role in students' learning and academic achievement (Panda and Mohanty, 2003),
4. How serious is the chosen research problem? The researcher is tasked to identify the intensity and
magnitude of the problem. When the gravity of the problem has already been described, he or she may
then gauge the kind of action to be used to identify the problem. In most cases, the researcher at this
point looks for statistical or quantitative evidence to assess the significance of the problem at hand.
Example:
Based on the DepEd Division Memo series 2012, among the 12 schools with the most poorly performing
students, Puting Capunitan Elementary Schools ranked 12th.
5. What is the general objective of the problem? This is the general statement of the problem or the major
tasks of the researcher to discharge and should also be the basis of the enumerated statements of specific
problems.
Example:
With the abovementioned scenario and situations, it is the main objective of the researcher to
determine the common reasons of the poor performance of the students. Therefore, the research findings on
that objective become the basis of an intervention program for school effectiveness.
6. What is the overall purpose of the problem? It is important to note that the researcher must be totally
aware of the purpose of the research problem. He or she must fully understand the implications of the
resulting findings of the study.
Example:
This is mainly for the purpose of letting the students acquire the needed competencies before
graduation and enabling the school to perform better in the Regional Achievement Examinations.
Introduction Sample:
Predictors of Students' Performance in Chemistry Laboratory
of Selected Private Schools (Estrella, 2009)
Rationale
Experimenting is one of the tasks in a science class. No science course is ever complete unless each
student has been given the opportunity to conduct an experiment. It opens opportunities to students to be
exposed to hands-on activities where they discover the answers to their scientific queries. Laboratory activity
requires students to use many of the other scientific process skills like observation, measurements, inference,
prediction, and generalization.
All levels of students from primary, secondary, and tertiary levels conduct laboratory activities. It is a well-
known fact that college students taking up professional courses cannot do away with science as one of their basic
subjects. However, it has been observed that students still find difficulties even in identifying common laboratory
apparatus and following simple procedures. This is despite the fact that they have been already exposed to science
activities during their high school years.
Setting of the problem

To cite, they have Integrated Science in their first year, Biology in their second year, Chemistry in third
year, and Physics in their fourth year. It is therefore, expected that they are already familiar with the basics in
science experiment. However, this is not the case. Most of the time, the teacher repeats simple laboratory
procedures, whereby, it must be explained properly to the letter," and all the observations would lead the teacher
to teach the "ABCs" of doing a laboratory activity so that they can perform it correctly. In addition, the teacher
would have to orient the students on the basic and the most commonly used laboratory apparatus.
Literature foundation
However, as cited by Cuyegkeng (2008), in the Philippine educational system, one of the most disturbing
problems is the poor achievement of Filipino students in the areas of science and technology. Educators agree that
one of the major causes of this problem has to do with the method of facilitating the learning of science concepts,
processes, and poor laboratory practices inside the classroom. Somehow, this indicates that the current methods
do not fully develop the skills of both students and teachers. Also, Puno (2005), citing specific issues concerning
higher education, mentioned that academic excellence must be viewed in terms of excellence in practical or
applied learning theories. Application of these theories and concepts will make the learner a productive member
of society. It is not the quantity of knowledge but more importantly how much of these knowledges can be put to
good use. We need graduates whose lives will be full of action and not merely have heads which are just full of
facts.
Seriousness of the problem

Earlier studies show that one of the problems of students, in general, is the failure to connect the
chemistry principles they have learned in class with the problems in the real world. They fail to appreciate
chemistry concepts and draw connections between them, because chemistry is usually presented as a very
theoretical, abstract body of knowledge. This is especially true if the teacher is not properly trained, which is often
the sad plight of Philippine secondary schools. Coupled with poor learning facilities and materials, the result is a
failure in science education. All these ideas point to the significance of learning by doing. For this reason, it is
viewed that in studying science, students may not only be more on theories but application as well. There are
many experiments that may be conducted and performed in any science unit of study, and yet conducting them
may not be that effective and the mark of knowledge is absent.
General objective
At present, the researcher, as a college instructor, is experiencing the abovementioned scenario in science
education. If not dealt with properly, it might result to poor performance in science laboratory activities. It is in this
light that this research was conducted to determine the factors affecting the student's performance in Chemistry
laboratory.
General purpose
To improve the performance of science instructors, which will result to improved student performance in
achievement examinations and a positive impact on school effectiveness.

The Introduction

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Introduction

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Introduction

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BEGINNING OF THE RESEARCH

1. Rationalization of the need to research on the problem.

Setting of the problem

Seriousness of the problem

You might also like