Chapter Two

Defining the
Research Problem

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 “Quotes”
• In business research, the adage
“a problem well defined is a problem half
solved”

• Albert Einstein noted that

“the formulation of a problem is often more
essential than its solution”

2
 Research Problem
• A research problem is a statement
about an area of concern, a condition to
be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated,
or a troubling question that exists in
scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice
that points to the need for meaningful
understanding and deliberate
investigation.

3
 Research Problem
 Is the beginning activity of the research process.

 Is the most difficult phase.

 Is the most critical step in scientific research.

 Reflects a gap in understanding.

 Is some difficulty which a researcher experiences

in the context of either:

 practical or

 theoretical situation. 4
Cont…
 A problem is said be occurred if:

 The individual or the organization does

not know what course of action is best
 When the individual or organization is
in doubt about the solution
 Problem definition involves:

 Specifying the symptoms

 Itemizing the possible causes 5
Cont…
 Asks a previously unanswered questions
for which an answer is required.
 Is a set of conditions that need solution
through data collection and analysis.
 A good research problem should be one
that is socially and scientifically
important to investigation.
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How do you write a research problem?

• It should:
1. Put the problem in context (what do we
already know?)
2. Describe the precise issue that the research
will address (what do we need to know?)
3. Show the relevance of the problem (why do
we need to know it?)
4. Set the objectives of the research (what will
you do to find out?)
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Sources of Research Problem
 Personal Experience of Practical Situation:

 Day to day experience/observation

 unresolved issues in the surrounding environment

 Previous Research and Related Literature

 Articles and journals, books, magazines and other research

outputs

 Indentify research gaps

 Current Social and Political Issues

Debates, concerns or movements.

Changes in social, economic, political, cultural aspects

Their impacts or influence can be studied 8

Cont…
 From Discussions with Peoples

 With friends, students, neighbors, workers of different

organizations, and with different members of the society
 On various socio-economic, political issues.

 Personal Motivation

 An interest to know certain phenomena or events from

different perspectives
 Lack of Information

 If there is no sufficient or relevant information to

formulate policy in various issues and to make various
decisions 9
Components of Research Problem
a. There must be an individual or a group which has
some difficulty or problem.

b. There must be some objectives to be attained.

c. There must be alternative means (or courses of

action) for obtaining the objectives to be attained.

d. There must remain some doubt in the mind of a

researcher with regard to the selection of
alternatives.

e. There must be some environments to which the

difficulty affects. 10
Selection of Research Problem
 The first step in the problem identification
involves selecting a research topic.
 Statement of the problem is generated from a
research topic.
 The research problem must be carefully
selected
 Problem must spring from the researcher’s
mind.
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Cont…
Points to be considered in selecting research problem.
 Subject which is overdone/difficult task should not
be normally chosen.
 Controversial subject should not become the choice
of researcher.
 Too narrow or unclear problems should be avoided.

 The subject selected for research should be familiar

and feasible

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Cont…
 The importance of the subject, the
qualifications and the training of a
researcher, the costs involved, and the time
factor must be considered
 When the field of inquiry is relatively new
the selection of a problem must be
preceded by a preliminary study.

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Cont…
The research topic to be selected should be:

a. The one in which the researcher has an interest

b. The one that the researcher has the background

knowledge

c. The one that address felt need

d. The one on which enough materials could be

obtained

e. The one whose selection is justifiable on social,

scientific or policy grounds.
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Techniques of Defining a Research Problem

Involves the following general steps

i. Statement of the problem in a general way

(choice of research topic)

ii. Understanding the nature of the problem

iii. Surveying the available literature

iv. Developing ideas through discussions

v. Rephrasing the research problem into a

working proposition.
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Techniques of Defining a Research Problem
i. Statement of the problem in a general way:

 First of all ,the problem should be stated in a broad

general way (choice of research topic) .

 Then the researcher narrow it down and phrase the

problem in operational terms.

ii. Understanding the Nature of the Problem:

 Understanding its origin and nature clearly.

 The best way of understanding the problem is to discuss it

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Techniques of Defining a Research Problem

iii. Surveying the Available Literatures:

 Survey and examine all available literatures

 It helps a researcher to know if there are

certain gaps in the theories
 Entails whether the existing theories
applicable to the problem under study.
 It is important to begin with the most recent
publications and work backwards.
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Techniques of Defining a Research Problem

iv. Developing Ideas through discussions:

 Discuss problem with colleagues and others who

have experience in the area.

 Concerned with the:

 general approach to the given problem

 techniques that might be used

 possible solutions, etc.

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Techniques of Defining a Research Problem

v. Rephrasing the Research Problem: - is putting the

research problem in as specific terms as possible.

 In rephrasing research problem, a researcher has to

narrow a research focus, and develop:
 Statement of the problem

 Statement of research purpose

 Research objectives

 Research questions

 Formulation of research hypothesis

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1. Statement of the problem
 It conveys the specific research problem, usually in a few
paragraphs.
 It should indicate:

 the focus area of the research

 researches done by other researchers in the area
including their findings
 issues that are not yet assessed by other researcher
in the area (the knowledge gap)
 difference in the findings of various researchers in
the area (if any)
 the study area and the issues or subjects of research
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Statement of the problem
 A good research problem should be capable of
being stated in one major research question.
 E.g. Suppose that our title says:
 “Determinants of Microfinance outreach in Ethiopia”

 Then, our main research question might be:

 “What are the determinants of Microfinance outreach
in Ethiopia and how do those factors influence the
outreach of Ethiopian microfinance institutions’?”

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2. Statement of Research Purpose
 conveys the focus of the study and should be spelt out in:

• clear,
• direct and
• unambiguous manner.

 It is usually expressed in a declarative manner, starting

with the phrase:

• The purpose of the study is …, followed by neutral

verbs such as, to investigate, to examine, to
compare, to explore, to find out , to inquire, to
determine, etc.
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Statement of Research Purpose
For example:
 Assuming the previous title, our purpose
statement might be:
“In the context of the problems
highlighted above, the purpose of the
study is to assess the factors that affect
microfinance outreach in Ethiopia.”

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3. Research Objectives

 Specify the issues or area of knowledge that the researcher

wants to examine or explore.

 One general objectives with number of specific objectives

4. Research Questions
 Describe the ideas contained in a research objectives in the

form of questions.

 The questions have to be related to three aspects: What, Why

and How?

 What’ questions seek descriptions,

 ‘Why’ questions seek explanation and understanding

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5. Formulation of Research Hypothesis

 Is a tentative prediction of the expected relationships between two

variables

 That can be investigated and tested.

 Derived from a theory, previous research, or professional experience.

 A research may has one or more hypothesis

 Until a hypothesis is tested it cannot be accepted as an answer

 In studies, which are essentially exploratory or in an area that has very

little previous research,

 not possible to formulate hypothesis.

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Characteristics of Good Hypothesis
 Capable of being expressed as a question.

 E.g. Suppose that our title says: “An Analysis of the

Impact of Training on the Workers Efficiency at Work:

the case of XY-Company”

 The hypothesis that states “Training increase workers

efficiency at work”, can be expressed in question form

as “Does training increase workers’ efficiency at work?

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 Characteristics of Good Hypothesis

 Capable of being stated in a negative way.

 For instance, the above hypothesis can be expressed in negative way as
“Training do not increase worker efficiency at work?”.

 This type of hypothesis statement is called a null hypothesis.

 Capable of being answered with a “yes” and “no” or “may be.”

 capable of being accepted, rejected or not rejected.
 Should clearly show the relationship between the variables

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Characteristics of Good Hypothesis

 Should be in line with the main research findings

and theories.
 Should be testable: can be accepted or rejected

 Should be in agreement with:

 research topic,

 problem statement,

 research questions and

 research objectives.
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 Types of Research Hypothesis
 Alternative Hypothesis (H1) – is a researcher’s proposition about some social
fact.
 E.g. H1: Training Increases Workers’ Efficiency at Work

 Null Hypothesis (Ho) - is the reverse of research hypothesis.

 It is a hypothesis of no relationship.
 E.g. Ho: Training has no Impact on the Workers’ Efficiency at Work
H0 is true H1 is true
Accept null hypothesis Right Decision Wrong Decision
Type II Error
Reject null hypothesis Wrong Decision Right Decision
Type I Error

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Steps of Hypothesis Testing

 Step 1: State the hypotheses.

 Step 2: Set the criteria for a decision.
 Step 3: Compute the test statistic.
 Step 4: Make a decision.

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Step 1: State the hypotheses
 H1. There is significant positive relationship between age of the

institution and outreach.

 H2. There is significant positive relationship between percentage of

voluntary saving and outreach.

 H3. There is significant negative relationship between loan loss rate and

outreach.

 H4. There is significant positive relationship between operational self-

sufficiency and outreach.

 H5. There is significant negative relationship between inflation and

outreach.

 H6. There is significant positive relationship between real gross

domestic product growth and outreach. 31

Step 2: Set the criteria for a decision

 How do we know whether a relationship between two

variables in an observed sample is significant, and not a

matter of chance?

 Establishing the basic guidelines for significance

testing.

 Statistical result may be considered significant if it can

be shown that the probability of it being rejected due to

chance is 5% or less. 32
Step 2: Set the criteria for a decision

 In inferential statistics, this probability is called the p

value, 5% is called the significance level (α), and the

desired relationship between the p-value and α is

denoted as: p≤0.05.

 If the p-value is less than 5%, it means that we have a

5% chance of being incorrect in rejecting the null

hypothesis or having a Type I error.

 If p>0.05, we do not have enough evidence to reject

the null hypothesis or accept the alternative hypothesis.

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Step 3: Compute the test statistic
 Is a mathematical formula that allows
researchers to determine the likelihood
of obtaining sample outcomes if the
null hypothesis were true.

 The value of the test statistic is used to

make a decision regarding the null
hypothesis.
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Step 3: Compute the test statistic
Variable Coefficient Std. Error Prob.

C 4.295469 0.371387 0.0000

AGE 0.039662 0.009880 0.0001

OSS 0.154197 0.044153 0.0007

VS 0.048317 0.016309 0.0037

LLR -0.199491 0.279474 0.4768

GDP -1.606719 2.397460 0.5041

INFL -0.086239 0.182329 0.6371

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Step 4: Make a decision
 We use the value of the test statistic to make a decision about

the null hypothesis.

 The decision is based on the probability of obtaining a sample

mean, given that the value stated in the null hypothesis is

true.

 If the probability of obtaining a sample mean is less than 5%

when the null hypothesis is true, then the decision is to reject

the null hypothesis.

 If the probability of obtaining a sample mean is greater than

5% when the null hypothesis is true, then the decision is to

retain the null hypothesis.
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Step 4: Make a decision
 In sum, there are two decisions a researcher can make:

1. Reject the null hypothesis. The sample mean is associated

with a low probability of occurrence when the null

hypothesis is true.

2. Retain/accept the null hypothesis. The sample mean is

associated with a high probability of occurrence when the

null hypothesis is true.

NOTE: Researchers make decisions regarding the null

hypothesis. The decision can be to retain the null (p> .05)

or reject the null (p < .05). 37

THE END

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