• Introduction to Research.

• Scientific Investigation.
Research • Technology and Business Research.
• The Research Process: Steps 1 to 3: The
Process Broad Problem Area, Data Gathering, and
Problem Definition.
• The Research Process: Steps 4 and 5:
Theoretical Framework Hypothesis
Development.
• The Research Process: Step 6: Elements
of Research Design.

1
Research
Process
The Broad Problem Area and
Defining the Problem Statement –
(Stage 1 - 3 in Research Process)

[Link] Qassem
 Contents
1 2 3 4
The broad Preliminary Defining the The research
problem area information problem proposal
gathering statement
Part 1
The broad
problem area
THE BROAD PROBLEM AREA
• A “problem” does not necessarily mean that something is
seriously wrong with a current situation that needs to be
rectified immediately.
• A problem could also indicate an interest in an issue where
finding the right answers might help to improve an existing
situation.
• Thus, it is fruitful to define a problem as any situation
where a gap exists between the actual and the desired
ideal states.
 Examples of problems
1. Long and frequent delays lead to much frustration among airline
passengers. These feelings may eventually lead to switching behavior,
negative word-of-mouth communication, and customer complaints.
2. Staff turnover is higher than anticipated.
3. The current instrument for the assessment of potential employees for
management positions is imperfect.
4. The newly installed information system is not being used by the managers
for whom it was primarily designed.
5. The introduction of flexible work hours has created more problems than it
has solved.
6. Young workers in the organization show low levels of commitment to the
organization.
How we can transform the broad problem area into a feasible topic
for research by selecting an academic perspective?

The selection of a particular vantage point will help us to shape our thinking on an issue
and to narrow down the problem into a feasible topic for research.
For Example: marketing literature on customer perceptions of service may
help us to dig deeper into the problem of long and frequent delays experienced
by airline passengers and resulting feelings of frustration by providing us
with, among other things:
● relevant definitions of customer satisfaction and service quality and an
understanding of how these two types of customer perceptions are related;
● an overview of the effects of service quality and customer satisfaction on
(behavioral) responses of consumers;
● an overview of strategies for managing perceptions of service.
This will help us to structure our thinking about this issue and to narrow down the
problem to a clearly defined subject.
Part 2
Preliminary
information
gathering
Preliminary information gathering
it may be broadly classified under two headings:
1. Background information on the organization and its environment – that is, the
contextual factors.
2. Literature – the body of knowledge available to you or what is already known and
written down that is relevant to your research project.

secondary data are data that already exist and do not have to be collected by the
researcher. Some secondary sources of data are statistical, government
publications, published or unpublished information available from either within or
outside the organization, data available from previous research, case studies and
library records, online data, company websites, and the Internet in general.

primary data refers to information that the researcher gathers first-hand through
instruments such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observation.
Background information on the organization
It is important for the researcher or the research team – to be well acquainted with the
background of the company or organization studied. Such background information might
include:
1. The origin and history of the company – when it came into being, business it is in, rate
of growth, ownership and control, and so on.
2. Size in terms of employees, assets, or both.
3. Charter – purpose and ideology.
4. Location – regional, national, or other.
5. Resources – human and others.
6. Interdependent relationships with other institutions and the external environment.
7. Financial position during the previous five to ten years, and relevant financial data.
8. Information on structural factors (for instance, roles and positions in the organization
and number of employees at each job level, communication channels, control systems,
workflow systems).
9. Information on the management philosophy.
Literature –
the body of knowledge available to you
The literature – the body of knowledge available to you as a researcher – may also
help you to think about and/ or better understand the problem. A careful review of
textbooks, journals, conference proceedings, and other published and unpublished
materials ensures that you have a thorough awareness and understanding of current
work and viewpoints on the subject area. This helps you to:
● structure your research on work already done, or in other words to build on the
foundation of existing knowledge;
● develop the problem statement with precision and clarity.
Part 3
Defining the
problem
statement
BUSINESS PROBLEM TRANSLATED
INTO PROBLEM STATEMENT

Title here
BUSINESS PROBLEM TRANSLATED
INTO PROBLEM STATEMENT

Problem Problem statement

High Employee Turnover in the
Research objective Research questions
Tech Department

The high turnover rate (25% The purpose of this study is to 1. What is the effect of organizational
annually) among specialized tech investigate the primary commitment and perceived supervisory
staff is leading to significant determinants, beyond support on the intent to quit among tech
costs, including recruitment, compensation, contributing to employees?
onboarding, lost productivity, and high employee turnover among 2. Is there a significant relationship between
a delayed product roadmap. specialized technical staff. the quality of the performance appraisal
process (feedback frequency and fairness) and
Management lacks clarity on the employee satisfaction levels?
root causes beyond salary alone.
3. How do remote work policies and career
development opportunities moderate the
relationship between employee tenure and
voluntary turnover rates?
 BUSINESS PROBLEM TRANSLATED INTO PROBLEM STATEMENT

Problem Problem statement

Low Customer Conversion from Digital
Research objective Research questions
Marketing Channels
The firm is spending a significant budget on The purpose of this study is to identify 1. To what extent does ad message framing
digital advertising (e.g., social media and the core design, content, and targeting (e.g., loss aversion vs. gain frame) influence
search ads), but the conversion rate (leads variables within the firm’s digital the click-through rates (CTR) and landing
to sales) remains 1.5%—significantly below marketing campaigns that influence page dwell time of prospective customers?
the industry benchmark of 3%. customer purchase intent and final 2. How does the personalization level of
The current digital marketing strategy is conversion rates. website content moderate the relationship
inefficient and wastes resources. between initial ad exposure and final sales
conversion?
3. Is there a statistically significant
difference in customer lifetime value (CLV)
between customers acquired through paid
search compared to those acquired through
social media channels?
The researcher is interested in explaining or predicting: Sales Conversion Rate (Dependent Variable (DV) is
the outcome) .

Then investigates how specific elements of a digital ad campaign influence customer outcomes.

Researcher hypothesize that better Ad Message Framing and higher Personalization will lead to higher CTR
and Dwell Time, which ultimately drives a higher Sales Conversion Rate.

These are the variables the researcher is measuring as potential causes. In this case, they are the campaign
design choices: Ad Message Framing and Personalization Level.(Independent Variables (IVs))

Mediating Variables (MV): These variables explain how the IV affects the DV. Here, Click-Through
Rates (CTR) and Landing Page Dwell Time are intermediate steps; they are caused by the ad and, in
turn, influence the final sale.
BUSINESS PROBLEM TRANSLATED INTO PROBLEM STATEMENT

Problem Problem statement

Declining Employee Engagement

Research objective Research questions
in a Hybrid Work Environment

Following the permanent adoption The purpose of this study is to explore 1. Does the frequency and type of leader-employee
of a hybrid work model (3 days in the relationship between the structure interaction (virtual vs. in-person) significantly predict an
office/2 days remote), the annual of the hybrid work model and key HR employee's perceived level of organizational support and
employee engagement score has outcomes, specifically focusing on engagement?
dropped by 15 points. employee engagement, 2. What is the impact of digital communication overload (e.g.,
This low engagement risks communication efficacy, and excessive emails/chats) on employee job satisfaction and
reducing overall productivity, organizational citizenship behavior perceived work-life balance in the remote component of the
collaboration, and knowledge (OCB). hybrid model?
sharing. 3. How do perceptions of equity and fairness regarding hybrid
work policy enforcement influence the incidence of
presenteeism (working while ill) among different employee
groups?
Researcher explores how the work environment structure impacts employee behavior and attitude in a
hybrid setting, focusing on the role of management interaction.
These are the key HR outcomes: Employee Engagement and Organizational Citizenship Behavior
(OCB) (discretionary behaviors that benefit the organization, like helping colleagues) Dependent
Variables (DVs).

The core cause being studied is the Frequency & Type of Leader-Employee Interaction (how often and
how—virtually vs. in-person—managers connect with their staff) Independent Variable (IV).
Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
explains the mechanism. If the manager interacts
frequently and positively, the employee feels
supported by the organization, which then
increases their engagement and willingness to help
(OCB).
Digital Communication Overload is the
moderator. It changes the strength of the
relationship. For instance, high POS might lead to
high engagement, but if the employee is constantly
dealing with communication overload, that positive
relationship might be weakened.
Defining the Problem Statement (The Final Translation)
Business
Academic Research Question (RQ) Scientific Translation Principle
Problem Example

"Is there a negative correlation between Focuses on a relationship (correlation)

"Sales are
salesperson job satisfaction and annual between two measurable variables
falling."
sales revenue?“ (satisfaction, revenue).

Shifts focus from the failure to the

psychological and behavioral mechanisms
"To what extent does the perceived ease (Ease of Use, Behavioral Intention) that
"Our new IT
of use of the new IT system influence underlie the problem, often using
system isn't
managers' behavioral intention to use established theories (e.g., Technology
being used."
the system?" Acceptance Model).

"How does the quality of the Introduces testable variables (performance

"Employee
performance appraisal process appraisal quality, salary, intent to quit) that
turnover is too
moderate the relationship between can be quantitatively or qualitatively
high."
employee salary and intent to quit?" measured and analyzed.
Examples of research objectives

● To find out what motivates consumers to buy a product online.

● To study the effect of leadership style on employees ’ job satisfaction.
● To investigate the relationship between capital structure and profitability of
the firm.
● To establish success factors regarding the adoption and use of information
systems.
● To determine the optimal price for a product.
● To investigate the influence of the in-store shopping environment on impulse
buying.
● To establish
It serves the determinants of employee involvement.
a variety of purposes,
making presentations powerful tools
● To understand the causes of employee absence.
for convincing and teaching.
Examples of research problems
• To what extent has the new advertising campaign been successful in creating
the high-quality, customer-centered corporate image that it was intended to
produce?
• How has the new packaging affected the sales of the product?
• How do price and quality rate on consumers ’ evaluation of products?
• Does better automation lead to greater asset investment return?
• Does expansion of international operations result in an enhancement of the
firm’s image and value?
• What are the effects of downsizing on the long-range growth patterns of
companies?
• ItWhat are the specific factors to be considered in creating a data warehouse for
serves a variety of purposes,
making presentations powerful tools
aformanufacturing
convincing and teaching. company?
Part 4
The research
proposal
 The research proposal basically
contains the following
1. A research title.
2. Background of the study:
a. Problem Background
b. Previous studies

3. The problem statement:

a. The purpose of the study.
b. Research questions.

4. The scope of the study:

a. Subjective limits of the study, including operational definitions, and conceptual model.
[Link] frame of the study.
c. place limits of the study.

5. The relevance of the study.

a. Academic relevance
b. Practical relevance

6. The research design:

a. Type of study – exploratory, descriptive, and/or causal
b. Data collection methods
c. The sampling design
d. Data analysis.

7. References.
 The Research Process
for Basic and Applied Research
①
OBSERVATION
Broad area
of research
interest
identified

④ ⑦
③ THEORETICAL
PROBLEM FRAMEWORK ⑤ ⑥ DATA
COLLECTION
DEFINITION GENERATION SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS,
Research OF RESEARCH AND
problem Variables clearly HYPOTHESES DESIGN INTERPRETATION
delineated identified and
labeled

⑧
② DEDUCTION
PRELIMINARY Hypotheses
DATA GATHERING substantiated?
Interviewing Research question
literature survey answered?
THANKS FOR
LISTENING
Dr. Lobna Qassem