iSTARTMO: A Guided Approach to Research Topic Development
Everything You Need to Know About the iSTARTMO Approach
iSTARTMO is the refined version 2.0 of the START Approach, initially published in 2019 and further improved in 2023 by Dr. Jun S. Camara, a faculty member of Pangasinan State University, Philippines.
The primary goal of iSTARTMO is to assist researchers—especially students—in developing research topics and transforming them into well-structured research titles. Originally tested in selected high schools, this updated approach introduces mentoring and outlining, making the research process more structured, guided, and effective.
🔍 The iSTARTMO Process
- See – Utilize human senses and tools to observe an object in the immediate environment. In advanced topics like Cell Biology, this can include tools like microscopes.
- Think – Mentally outline 3-4 ideas related to the object, considering aspects like size, shape, color, location, imprints, and personal experiences.
- Aim – Narrow down to one of the outlined ideas and focus on it using "Why" questions to refine the research intent.
- Refine – Identify an appropriate verb to specify doable actions related to the chosen focus. This is a crucial step, requiring careful guidance from mentors.
- Tell – Use the "verbed" focus to outline the research methodology and communicate the approach to others.
- Mentoring & Outlining – Receive feedback from a mentor and use it to structure the research steps from start to finish.
🏗️ Built With
- Laravel – Backend framework for efficient data handling
- Inertia.js – Seamless frontend-backend communication
- Vue.js – Interactive and dynamic user interface
- MySQL – Reliable database for storing research topics and progress
- Tailwind CSS – Clean and responsive UI design
- PWA (Progressive Web App) – Enhancing accessibility and offline functionality