NOTRE DAME OF MIDSAYP COLLEGE

Midsayap, Cotabato

RESEARCH PAPER GUIDE

Title:

The title should give an indication of the specifics problem(s) to be investigated. It has to

be brief, concise and clear. It should give an idea as to what the whole problem is about- a

description, comparison, relation or evaluation of a certain phenomenon or topic. The length of

the title should be 10 to 15 Substantive words.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Background of the Study

This section must be clear and logical in describing the trends and/or problematic issues

(global, national, local) in the field, the research gap and the urgency of the study. This also

contains a literature particularly in the light of the chosen variables surfacing the research-

unexplored area as well as the conflicting areas in the literature.

The first line of every paragraph is indented on-half or 5 spaces. Maintain the regular

double space throughout the manuscript. Do not use black paragraphing.

The first sentence is a personal view about the issue and it includes striking statement

related to the problem. The 1st paragraph must contain problematic issues, challenges or issues

regarding the dependent variable. Consequently, the 2nd paragraph will comprise of additional

literature on the problems related to the dependent variable in a specific international setting.
 The 3rd paragraph should present issues and challenges based on literatures regarding

the independent variable. Moreover, link or relationship between variables should be included

in the third paragraph. Literatures in the national and local setting will be presented in the 4th

paragraph.

Research gap which discussed the uniqueness/ peculiarity of the study or the aspect

making it different when compared to study previously done as well as the urgency to conduct

the study should be stated in the 5th paragraph.

The background of the study may have 1 to 2 pages. Every paragraph should have at least

3-5 sentences with at least 3-5 sets of authors.

Statement of the Problem

This section enumerates all the general and specific questions to be answered,

descriptions or compositions to be made or associations and relationships to be tested. Research

objectives are ideally formulated in the question form.

Sample

This research aimed to determine the level of crisis management practices and

business performance of microenterprises.

Specifically, this research sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of number of years

in business and number of employees?

2. What is the level of crisis management practices of microenterprises in terms of

entrepreneurial characteristics, technology utilization, government support, and business

resilience?
 3. What is the level of business performance of microenterprises in terms of

financial and non-financial?

4. Is there a significant relationship between organizational culture and

sustainable practiced?

5. Does organizational culture significantly influence sustainable practices?

Significance of the Study

This section presents the reasons for doing work, such as the needs the research will fill

and why the work should be done now. It could also deal with defining the contributions/benefits

that the research findings may give to its end-users, agency region, or even nation who are going

to make use of the research findings.

*Educational institutions and future researchers must be included in the section.

Sample

The results or findings of the study may be significant to the following individuals or

institution:

Entrepreneurs. The findings of this study may provide information to entrepreneurs on

how to improve their operations in the event of a pandemic.

Definition of Terms

Research concepts/terms/variables used in the study need to be operationally defined. The

researcher must find ways of translating concepts/variables into observable events/indicators to

make it researchable. Workable definitions must be adequate and relative to the purpose of the

study. Variables should be arranged alphabetically. Within each variable, the indicators should

also be arranged in alphabetical order. (Follow APA 7 format)

Sample
 Business Performance. – refers to management of financial and non-financial goals and

measures to achieve business growth.

Related Literature

Side Heading

The required number of pages is at least 15 with recent references (2014 up to present).

The main variable is aligned left while the indicators are embedded in the paragraph with 5

spaces indention from left and ends with a period. The independent variable has to be discussed

first followed by the indicators. Next to be discussed is the dependent variable, followed by the

indicators. Literatures on the relationship between variables must also be presented. The second

to the paragraph should be a short summary or synthesis of literature, while the last paragraph

should be justifications why the study is unique.

Note: Articles, readings and the like should be paraphrased or summarized. All

paragraphs must have references/authors with year.

Suggested Sources:

Journals from this site: Academia.com, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Research Gate,

Thomson Reuters, Sage, Scopus, PEER Refereed Journals and other high Impact journals

Theoretical Framework

In the theoretical framework, the theories should reflect the connection or the relationship

between variables. Propositions will do, which are usually found from readings/literature. The

title of the theory or the proposition has to be introduced first with its author and year followed

by how it is stated. This is also followed by discussions on how the study is related to the

theory.
 Conceptual Framework

In the conceptual framework, the variables and the indicators have to be introduced first

then the next is the explanation of the relationship between and among the variables that the

researcher has to study.

Sample

Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram of the conceptual framework of the study. The

conceptual framework of the study depicts the variables as follows: the independent variable and

dependent variable. The independent variable is the crisis management practices measured in

terms of entrepreneurial characteristics, technology utilization, government support, and

business resilience. On the other hand, the dependent variable is the business performance with

the following domains: financial and non-financial. The arrow connecting the independent

variable and dependent variable connotes a significant relationship and influence between crisis

management practices and business performance of microenterprises.

Hypotheses

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between organizational culture and sustainable

practices of SMEs.

Ho2: Organizational culture does not significantly influence sustainable practices.

 Methods

This section states the essential working plans to be used in attaining the stated research

objectives. The proposed plans and methods should correspond to the objectives of the research

study, research design, locale and respondents of the study, sampling design instrumentation,

validity and reliability of the instruments, data gathering procedure and statistical tools as

treatment of data.

Chapter 2

Methods

Sample

The chapter contains research design, respondents, locale and respondents of the study,

sampling design, instrumentation, validity and reliability of instrument, data gathering

procedures and statistical tools and treatment of data.

*research design to be chosen must be appropriate to the requirements of the research problem,

whether it will require an experimental or non-experimental design.

Research Design

This part should contain the research design method to be used. The design should

be defined with citations. There should also be justifications how these designs will be utilized in

the study.

Sample

The research used a descriptive-correlation research design/method. It is descriptive

because the data will describe the degree of participation of the employees in the planning
function. It will also describe the satisfaction of the respondents over their participation in

planning. The study is also correlational because the variables degree of participation will be

correlated with satisfaction.

Locale and Respondents of the Study

The locale of the respondents should be stated here. Present the locale and provide

justification why was the study conducted in that locale. Moreover, state who are the

respondents, how many and describe them.

Sampling Technique

. Sampling technique must be stated in the first sentence, followed by definition of the

technique by an author. Also, provide discussion how this technique was used in the study.

Instrumentation

The research instrument should be discussed in this section. Present the original source of

the research instrument. Then, describe per section the content of the said modified instrument.

Data Gathering Procedures

This procedure outlines the specific activities to be undertaken in data collection- that is

what activities will be carried out or implemented during the data gathering. Tell a story or the

step-by-step process during the conduct of the study.

Statistical Tools and Treatment of Data

These are scientific measures needed to make the data ready for analysis and

interpretation. Present the statistical tool and treatment of data used per SOP.
 Title Page

Double space and

Your title here in APA recommendation all capitalized
letters
For the length should be 10 to 15 Substantive words
1.5 inches margin

6 single space

By

3 single spaces

JUAN C. DELA CRUZ

6 single spaces

Double
A Research Paper Presented to the College of Business and Accountancy Faculty in space

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the subject BA 303: Business Research

6 single spaces
 Notre Dame of Midsayap College single space, only
the first letter is
College of Business and Accountancy
Capitalized
Midsayap, Cotabato

Month Year