Chapter 3 – Formulating

a Research Problem
 Chapter 3 Formulating a RSCH problem
Purpose: At the end of this chapter you should be able to formulate a
successful problem.

The main topics of this chapter are:

3.1. Constructing Hypotheses
• Foundation of hypothesis
• Meaning of hypothesis
• How to formulate a hypothesis
• Objectives of hypotheses

3.2. Reviewing the literature

• What is meant by literature review?

• Functions of literature review

2 • Steps of literature review

The Foundation of Hypotheses

 The second step in the research process of social study is to

formulate hypotheses. The hypothesis is a tentative solution of a
problem. The research activities are planned to verify the
hypothesis and not to find out the solution of the problem or to seek
an answer of a question. It is very essential to a research worker to
understand the meaning and nature of hypothesis. The researcher
always plan or formulate a hypothesis in the beginning of the
problem.
MEANING OF HYPOTHESIS

 The word hypothesis is made up of two Greek roots : Hypo +

thesis = Hypothesis
 ‘Hypo’ means tentative or subject to the verification and
‘Thesis’ means statement about solution of a problem.
 The world meaning of the term hypothesis is a tentative
statement about the solution of the problem. Hypothesis offers
a solution of the problem that is to be verified empirically and
based on some rational.
 Hypotheses are designed to express relationships between
variables. If this is the nature of your question, a hypothesis can add
to your research
 If your question is more descriptive or explorative, generating a
hypothesis may not be appropriate
The formulation of objectives:

Objectives are the goals you set out to attain in your study.
 -They inform a reader what you want to attain through the
study.
 -It is extremely important to word them clearly and specifically.
 Objectives should be listed under two headings:
a) main objectives ( aims);
b) sub-objectives.
 The main objective is an overall statement of the thrust of
your study.
 It is also a statement of the main associations and
relationships that you seek to discover or establish.
 The sub-objectives are the specific aspects of the topic that
you want to investigate within the main framework of your
study.
The research objectives

 -They should be numerically listed.

 -Wording should clearly, completely and specifically
communicate to your readers your intention.
 -Each objective should contain only one aspect of the
Study.
 -Use action oriented words or verbs when writing
objectives.
The objectives should start with words such as:
 ‘to determine’, ‘to find out’,‘to ascertain’,
‘to measure’,‘to explore’ etc.
 The wording of objectives determines the type of research
(descriptive, correlational and experimental) and the type of
research design you need to adopt to achieve them.
Examples

Descriptive studies:
 -To describe the types of incentives provides by Hotel XYZ to
employees in Algeria.
 -To find out the opinion of the employees about the medical
facilities provided by five star hotels in Algeria.

Correlational studies:
 -To ascertain the impact of training on employee retention.
 -To compare the effectiveness of different loyalty programs on
repeat clientele.
Hypothesis –testing studies:
 -To ascertain if an increase in working hours will increase the
incidence of drug/alchohol abuse.
 -To demonstrate that the provision of company accommodation to
employees in Algiers hotels will reduce staff turnover.
3.2 Literature Review

 is the documentation of a comprehensive review of the

published and unpublished work from secondary sources of data
in the areas of specific interest to the researcher.
 The literature review is an integral part of the entire research
process and makes a valuable contribution to almost every
operational step.
A literature review has a number of
functions

 Bring clarity and focus to your research problem

 Improve your methodology
 Broaden your knowledge base in your research area
 Contextualise your findings
 Bring clarity and focus to your
research problem

 N.B. you cannot effectively start the literature review search

without an idea of the problem you wish to investigate.

 The literature review can play an extremely important role in

shaping your research problem
 It also helps you to define the relationship between your research
problem and the body of knowledge in the area.
Improve your methodology

 acquaints you with the methodologies that have been used by

others to find answers to questions similar to the one you are
investigating.
 Tells you if others have used procedures and methods similar to
the ones that you are proposing, which procedures and methods
worked well for them and what pitfalls they have faced with
them.
Broaden your knowledge base in your
research area
 Literature review ensures you read widely around the subject
area in which you are intend to conduct your research study.
 It is important to know what other researchers have found in
regard to the same or similar questions, what theories have been
put forward and what gap exit in the relevant body of knowledge
 Contextualise your findings

 Literature review helps identifying how your findings compare

with the existing body of knowledge.
 How do answers to your questions compare with what other
have found? What contribution have you been able to make to
the existing body of knowledge? How your finding different
from others?
Procedures for reviewing the literature

There are five steps involved in conducting a literature review:

 search for existing literature in your area of study;
 review the literature selected;
 develop a theoretical framework;
 develop a conceptual framework;
 writing up the literature reviewed
 1) Search for existing literature

 Start with at least some idea of the broad subject area and of the
problem you wish to investigate, in order to set parameters for
your search.

 Next compile a bibliography for this broad area. There are two
sources that you can use to prepare a bibliography:
 books;

 journals.
 Notice

 Be aware that sometimes a title does not provide enough

information to decide if a book/ journal is going to be of use.
 Start with the latest issue, examine its contents page to see if there
is an article of relevance to your research topic.
 Start by reading the abstract. If it is relevant then download and
read.
2) Review the literature selected

 Now that you have identified several books and articles as

useful, the next step is to start reading them critically to pull
together themes and issues that are associated.
 If you do not have a theoretical framework or themes in mind
to start with, use separate sheets of paper for each article or
book.
 Once you develop rough frameworks, slot the findings from the
material so far reviewed into that framework, using a separate
sheet of paper for each themes of that framework. As you read
further, go on slotting the information where it logically belongs
under the themes so far developed.
 Notice where there are significant differences of opinion among
researchers and give your opinion about the validity of these
differences.

 Ascertain the areas in which little or nothing is known-the gaps

that exist in the body of knowledge.
 3) Develop a theoretical framework

 As you start reading the literature, you will soon discover that
the problem you wish to investigate has its roots in a number of
theories that have been developed from different perspectives.
4) Develop a conceptual framework

 The conceptual framework stems from the theoretical

framework and concentrates, usually, on one section of that
theoretical framework which becomes the basis of your study.
 5) Writing up the literature reviewed

 While reading the literature for theoretical background of your

study, you will realize that certain themes have emerged.
 List the main ones, converting them into subheadings. These
subheadings should be precise, descriptive of the theme in
question, and follow a logical progression.
 Now, under each subheading, record the main findings with
respect to the theme in question, highlighting the reasons for and
against an argument if they exist, and identifying gaps and
issues.
How to write references?

 Book

 Journal

 Online document
 29
Format for Citing References

Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title of book (edition if not first). City:
Publisher.
Book by a single author
 Leshin, C.B. (1997). Management on the World Wide Web. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
 30
Format for Citing References

Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title of book (edition if not first). City:
Publisher.

Book by more than one author

 Cornett, M., Wiley, B.J., & Sankar, S. (1998). The pleasures of nurturing (2nd
ed). London: McMunster Publishing.
 31
Format for Citing References

Journal Article
Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number
(issue number), page numbers.

 Barry, H. (1996). Cross-cultural research with matched pairs of

societies. Journal of Social Psychology, 79 (1), 25-33.
 Jeanquart, S., & Peluchette, J. (1997). Diversity in the workforce
and management models, Journal of Social Work Studies, 43, 72-85.
 Format for Citing References

Referencing Electronic Sources

Author, A. (year, month day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved
from home page web address

 Nader, C. (2009, June 19). Mental health issues soar among

children. The Age. Retrieved from [Link]