Practical Research: Planning and Design

Twelfth Edition, Global Edition

Chapter 2
The Problem:
The Heart of the Research
Process

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Finding Research Projects

• Research projects can be one of two types:

– Basic research
– Applied research

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Basic Research

• Enhances basic knowledge of

– Physical world
– Biological world
– Psychological world
– Social world
• Sheds light on historical, cultural, or aesthetic
phenomena

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Applied Research

• Addresses issues that have immediate relevance to

current practices, procedures, and policies
– Human decision making about practical problems
– Questions in one’s immediate work environment
(action research)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying a Suitable Research Problem

• Address an important question

• The answer should make a difference
• Advance the frontiers of knowledge by
– leading to new ways of thinking
– suggesting possible applications
– paving the way for further research in the field

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

When Considering A Research Problem

• Select a research problem

– for more than self-enlightenment
– to do more than compare two sets of data
– to contribute something new
– to identify and interpret a relationship
– that has more than a yes/no answer

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Finding a Legitimate Research Problem

• Look around you

• Read the literature
• Seek the advice of experts
• Attend professional conferences
• Choose a topic that intrigues and motivates you
• Choose a topic that others will find interesting and worthy
of attention
• Be realistic on what you can accomplish

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Writing a Purpose Statement

• Describe your problem or question clearly and completely

• Think through the feasibility of the project that your
purpose statement implies
• Say precisely what you mean
– Absolute honesty and integrity are the rule
• Reflect an open mind about the solution
• Edit your work

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Dividing the Research Problem into
Subproblems

• Most problems are too big to tackle with just one question
• Identify subproblems
– A small number of completely researchable units
▪ Subproblems usually consist of more specific
questions that are easier to address and resolve

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Subproblems V s. Pseudo-Subproblems
ersu

• Some problems that arise are simply procedural in

nature. Those problems are called pseudo-subproblems.
• Pseudo-subproblems require decisions to be made
before resolving the research problem and its
subproblems.
• With each pseudo-subproblem you must decide if it can
be solved with common sense and creativity or if you
need to acquire more knowledge to address the problem.

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Characteristics of Subproblems

• Should be a researchable issue in its own right

• Must be clearly tied to the interpretation of data
• Must add up to the totality of the problem
• Should be small in number

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying Subproblems

• Take a paper-and-pencil approach

– Write down the problem
– Critically examine for topics that require in-depth
treatment. Draw a box around each topic
– Make sure the text you’ve boxed has a need for data
interpretation
– Reorganize the ideas into a graphic that helps to
identify the overall research design
• Use brainstorming/mind-mapping software
– Construct graphic networks of interrelated concepts,
terms, and principles
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.
Delineating the Problem

• Every problem has a setting to establish

– Identify a general theoretical or conceptual framework
– State a priori hypotheses, if appropriate
– Identify general concepts and specific variables
– Define the terms
– State the underlying assumptions
– Identify delimitations and limitations, if applicable
▪ These comprise the setting of the problem

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying a Relevant Theoretical or
Conceptual Framework

• Theoretical Framework: A preexisting or newly

proposed set of concepts and principles that, in
combination, might shed light on cause-and-effect and
certain other relationships within the phenomenon under
investigation
• Conceptual Framework: Key concepts and inter-
concept connections that, taken as a whole, provide a
helpful “lens” through which the researcher looks at
certain processes and can impose some sort of meaning

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Stating Hypotheses

• Hypotheses are intelligent, reasonable guesses about

how a research problem or question might be resolved.
• Hypotheses that a researcher poses in advance, usually
in conjunction with the overall research problem or
question and its subproblems, are known as a priori
hypotheses.
• Remember that researchers aren’t setting out to prove
their hypotheses.
• Ultimately, a priori hypotheses are nothing more than
tentative propositions set forth to assist in guiding the
investigation of a research problem or question.
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.
Distinguishing between Research Hypotheses
and Null Hypotheses in Quantitative Research

• Research hypotheses are simply educated guesses that

researchers hope their data might support.
• Remember that researchers don’t set out to prove a
hypothesis. Instead, they set out to cast doubt on- and
therefore to reject- an opposite hypothesis.
• This hypothesis is known as the null hypothesis.
• The null hypothesis is not usually an a priori hypothesis,
but it is used during statistical analyses.

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying the General Concepts and Possibly Also
Specific Variables That are the Focus of the
Investigation (1 of 7)
• Explicit identification of variables at the beginning of a study is
most common in quantitative research, especially in
experimental studies
• Identification of variables helps the researcher choose
– an appropriate research design
– an appropriate statistical analysis

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying the General Concepts and Possibly Also
Specific Variables That are the Focus of the
Investigation (2 of 7)
• Variable: any quality or characteristic in a research
investigation that has two or more possible values
– Independent variable
▪ researcher studies this variable as a possible cause of
something else (may manipulate)
– Dependent variable
▪ potentially influenced by the independent variable, that
is, may depend on the independent variable

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying the General Concepts and Possibly Also
Specific Variables That are the Focus of the
Investigation (3 of 7)
Example:
• The consistency of ice cream (dependent variable – DV)
depends on the temperature at which it’s stored (independent
variable – IV)
• High temperatures cause ice cream to melt, whereas low
temperatures cause ice cream to be solid

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying the General Concepts and Possibly Also
Specific Variables That are the Focus of the
Investigation (4 of 7)
• Mediating variables help explain why an independent variable
has a particular effect on a dependent variable
– Independent variable influences mediating variable, which
in turn influences the dependent variable

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying the General Concepts and Possibly Also
Specific Variables That are the Focus of the
Investigation (5 of 7)
• For example
– confidence level → effort → performance
▪ confidence level (IV) influences effort (mediator)
▪ effort (mediator) influences performance quality (DV)
▪ high confidence → more effort → great performance
▪ low confidence → less effort → okay performance

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying the General Concepts and Possibly Also
Specific Variables That are the Focus of the
Investigation (6 of 7)
• Moderating variables influence the nature & strength of
relationship between IV and DV

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying the General Concepts and Possibly Also
Specific Variables That are the Focus of the
Investigation (7 of 7)
• For example:
– family income during childhood → problems later in life
▪ low income + high maternal warmth → fewer problems
▪ low income + low maternal warmth → more problems
▪ high income + low maternal warmth → more problems
– income (IV) does NOT influence maternal warmth
(moderator)

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Defining Terms (1 of 2)

• Each term should be defined as it will be used by the

particular researcher
– Operational definition: the definition of a characteristic
or variable in terms of how it will be measured in the
research study

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Defining Terms (2 of 2)

• Examples
– self-confidence = score on a self-report questionnaire
that has items such as “I can usually achieve what I
set out to do” and “I think of myself as a smart person”
– popularity = number of peers who specifically identify
an individual as being a desirable social partner

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Stating Assumptions

• All assumptions that have a material bearing on the

problem should be openly and unreservedly set forth
• A statement of the assumptions is necessary for others to
evaluate the conclusions of the study
• A statement of the assumptions reveals what the
researcher may be taking for granted with respect to the
problem

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying Delimitations

• Delimitations are statements about what the researcher is

not going to do.
• The researcher must distinguish between what is and
what is not relevant to the problem.
• For example, “I am interested in characteristics of X. I am
not going to worry about influences on X.”

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Identifying Limitations

• The researcher must acknowledge weaknesses

(limitations) that might cast doubt on results and
conclusions
• For example:
– “My sample is small and possibly not representative”
– “I have certain personal biases, such as X and Y, that
may affect my observations and interpretation”

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Writing the First Chapter or Section of a
Research Proposal

• In the first section of a proposal, you should outline:

– The problem and its setting
– Subproblems
– Theoretical and/or conceptual framework
– A priori hypotheses
– Variables and key concepts
– Assumptions, delimitations, and limitations
– The importance of the study

Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.

Evaluating Your Proposed Research Project

• In order to adequately evaluate your proposed research

project, make sure you do the following:
1. Conduct a thorough literature review
2. Think concretely about how you will conduct the
subsequent steps you must take in your project
3. Discuss your research problem or question with
others
4. Remember that your project will take time- lots of
time.
5. Remember that the first drafts of whatever you write
will almost certainly NOT be your last ones
Copyright © 2021 Pearson Education Ltd.