The background of the study is a funnel. It opens on the wide phenomenon, narrows to what is true in the Philippines, narrows again to the situation in your own locale, and closes on the one sentence that says what is still not known. That last sentence is the whole point: it hands over to the statement of the problem, and if it is missing, an adviser will send the section back no matter how well the rest reads.
The four levels, and what each one has to carry
| Level | What it does | What it must carry |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Global or conceptual | Establishes that the phenomenon matters | One or two cited claims. Two or three sentences, no more |
| 2. National | Shows the phenomenon in the Philippines | At least one attributed figure with its year and its source |
| 3. Local | Brings it to your locale, school, industry or population | Something observable: an office record, an interview, a document, a published local report |
| 4. Gap | Says what has not been studied | A statement of absence that a reader could in principle check |
Length is usually three to six pages in a Philippine undergraduate thesis, and roughly half of it should sit at levels 2 and 3. The commonest imbalance by far is a background that spends four pages on level 1 and half a page on the Philippines, which reads as if the study could have been done anywhere.
Six backgrounds, written out
Each passage below is compressed to its skeleton: one paragraph per level, with the citation slots marked. Bracketed items are the ones you replace. The sentence architecture is the part worth keeping.
1. Nursing
Global. Healthcare-associated infection remains one of the most common adverse events in care delivery worldwide, and adherence to standard precautions is the primary means of preventing it [citation].
National. In the Philippines, [figure: an attributed national figure on infection rates, nurse-to-patient ratios or facility compliance, with its agency and year]. Compliance is shaped by staffing levels and the availability of supplies rather than by knowledge alone [citation].
Local. At [the hospital], nurses in the medical and surgical wards carry [observed caseload], and the infection control committee records [an observable, e.g. the number of orientation sessions held in the past year]. Informal conversations with staff nurses suggest that practice varies most during night shifts and on days when supplies run short.
Gap. Although several Philippine studies have measured nurses’ knowledge of standard precautions, few have measured knowledge and observed practice in the same respondents in a provincial tertiary hospital, and none has been conducted at [the hospital]. This study addresses that gap.
2. Education
Global. Early reading proficiency is the strongest single predictor of later school performance [citation].
National. Philippine learners’ reading outcomes are documented in national and international assessments; [figure: the specific assessment result, with the round and year]. The Department of Education has responded through [named programme], but implementation varies by division.
Local. In [district], Grade 3 teachers report [observable: class sizes, the number of pupils flagged in the school’s own reading inventory]. The school’s Phil-IRI results for [year] show [observable].
Gap. Studies of reading intervention in the Philippines have largely described strategies used, without relating extent of use to measured pupil performance in the same classrooms. No such study has been conducted in [district].
3. Business administration
Global. Social media has moved from a promotional channel to the primary point of first contact between small enterprises and their customers [citation].
National. Micro, small and medium enterprises make up the overwhelming majority of registered Philippine businesses [figure and source], and Filipino internet users are among the heaviest social media users in the world [figure and source].
Local. In [city], the business permits office lists [number] registered micro and small enterprises. A walk-through of [the district] shows that most maintain a page but post irregularly, and few respond to enquiries within a day.
Gap. Philippine studies on social media marketing have concentrated on large firms and on Metro Manila. The relationship between marketing practice and purchase intention among micro and small enterprises in a provincial city has not been examined.
4. Criminology
Global. Community-based approaches to substance abuse prevention depend on sustained local participation rather than on enforcement alone [citation].
National. The Philippine framework for barangay-level drug abuse prevention is established in law and implemented through barangay anti-drug abuse councils [citation to the governing statute or issuance, which you should read before citing]. [Figure: attributed national implementation or coverage figure.]
Local. In [municipality], [number] barangays have organised councils. Minutes from [year] record [observable: the number of activities held, the number of referrals made].
Gap. Existing Philippine studies have evaluated council implementation from the perspective of officials. Few have measured resident participation alongside implementation in the same barangays, and none has done so in [municipality].
5. Hospitality and tourism
Global. In accommodation services, perceived service quality is consistently the strongest antecedent of guest satisfaction and of the intention to return [citation].
National. Domestic tourism has become the larger share of Philippine visitor volume [figure and source], which shifts the expectations resorts must meet.
Local. [Province] accommodation establishments accredited by the tourism office number [figure from the office itself]. Guest reviews of [the resorts studied] cluster on responsiveness and on the condition of facilities.
Gap. Service quality research in the Philippine resort sector has focused on established destinations. Beach resorts in [province] have not been studied, and no local study has related the five service quality dimensions to satisfaction in this setting.
6. Information technology capstone
Global. Inventory accuracy determines whether a small retailer can meet demand without tying up capital in stock [citation].
National. Digital adoption among Philippine micro and small enterprises remains uneven, with [figure and source] on the share still relying on manual records.
Local. [The company] records stock movement in a logbook and reconciles it monthly. In the past [period], reconciliation revealed [observable discrepancy], and two stock-outs occurred during peak weeks.
Gap. Existing systems available to the company are either priced for larger operations or do not support [the specific requirement]. No system has been developed for this operation.
Notice that in every one of the six, the gap paragraph is a claim of absence tied to a place. That is what makes it checkable, and it is the difference between a gap and a wish. If you want to establish the absence properly rather than assert it, the counting method is set out in the piece on whether your topic has already been studied.
Where the Philippine figure comes from
Level 2 is where most backgrounds collapse, because a national figure is harder to find than a global claim. Three rules make it manageable.
- Name the agency and the year in the sentence itself, not only in the citation. “According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s [year] [survey name]” is worth the extra clause, because a panellist reading quickly can see the figure is sourced.
- Use the most recent published round, and say which round it is. Figures get revised. A number without its round is a number a panellist can contradict.
- If no national dataset exists for your variable, say so. “No national dataset disaggregates [variable] at the municipal level” is a legitimate and rather strong sentence, and it often becomes part of your justification.
Which national figures are available for a Chapter 1, and which agency publishes each, is catalogued in the guide to Philippine higher education statistics; connectivity and device figures, which turn up in an unexpected number of backgrounds, are collected in the piece on internet access among Filipino students.
Background of the study versus review of related literature
These are different sections doing different jobs, and conflating them is the second most common revision request.
| Background of the study | Review of related literature | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Why does this problem deserve a study? | What is already known about it? |
| Organised by | Scope, from wide to narrow | Theme |
| Citation density | Moderate; enough to evidence each claim | High; it is nothing but sources |
| Ends on | The gap, pointing at your problem | The synthesis and the same gap, justifying your method |
| Chapter | 1 | 2 |
They both end on a gap, which is why they get confused. The difference is what the gap is used for: in Chapter 1 it justifies asking the question, in Chapter 2 it justifies the way you chose to answer it. Where to find the sources for both is compared in the piece on five databases for Philippine related literature.
The five faults advisers send it back for
- No gap paragraph. The section describes a situation and then stops. Add the sentence of absence; it is one sentence and it changes the whole section.
- Figures with no source or no year. A number a reader cannot trace is worse than no number, because it invites a question you cannot answer at the defence.
- Nothing local. Level 3 is missing entirely, usually because it is the only level you cannot copy from a source. Get one observable thing: a record from an office, a count you made, a document you were shown.
- Variables that appear here and nowhere else. If the background dwells on a variable that never returns in the statement of the problem, either the variable or the paragraph has to go.
- Undergraduate textbooks cited as evidence. Level 1 wants research, not a course book. Where a textbook is the only available support for a definition, keep it in the definition of terms instead.
Fault 4 is worth checking against the section that follows. The background and the statement of the problem should name the same variables in the same words; if they do not, one of the two is wrong. The full running order of Chapter 1, and where the background sits in it, is in the guide to writing Chapter 1 section by section.
Draft the background this week, not next month
The background is the section groups postpone, because it seems to need reading before it can be written. In practice it needs a structure first and reading second: once the four levels are marked out, each one tells you exactly what to go and find. Tesify builds that skeleton from your title and variables, drafts each level with the citation slots marked, and keeps the wording consistent with the statement of the problem you write next. The evidence and the argument remain yours.
Draft your background of the study free on Tesify
Frequently asked questions
How long should the background of the study be?
Three to six pages in most Philippine undergraduate manuscripts, with roughly half of it at the national and local levels. Your research manual may set a specific range, and it wins.
Does the background of the study need citations?
Yes, at every level except the local observations you made yourself. The global claim, the national figures and the prior studies named in the gap paragraph all need them.
What is the difference between the background and the rationale?
Many Philippine manuals use the two terms for the same section. Where a manual asks for both, the background carries the evidence and the rationale carries your reason for choosing the problem. Check which your manual expects.
Can I start the background with a dictionary definition?
Avoid it. Definitions belong in the definition of terms. Opening on a definition delays the claim that the phenomenon matters, which is the only thing level 1 is for.
What if there is no Philippine figure for my variable?
Say so explicitly, name the nearest available proxy, and use the absence as part of your justification. That is a stronger paragraph than a borrowed foreign statistic presented as if it were local.
How recent do the sources have to be?
Many Philippine departments ask for the last five or ten years for empirical studies. Foundational theory is exempt. Ask your adviser for the departmental rule, because it is usually unwritten.
Should the background mention my research locale by name?
Yes, at level 3 and again in the gap paragraph. A background that never names the place cannot justify why the study was done there.
Do I write the background before or after the review of related literature?
Either order works, but the background is easier after you have read for Chapter 2, because the gap paragraph is really a summary of what your reading did not find.
Can the background be written in the first person?
Philippine manuscripts are conventionally impersonal in Chapter 1. Local observations are attributed to a record or to an interview rather than to “I noticed”.
What tense should the background use?
Present tense for conditions that still hold, past tense for previous studies and for events. The pattern across all five chapters is set out in the piece on what tense each chapter uses.