Chapter Two
The Research Problem
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Contents (Discuss for 10 min)
1. What is research problem?
2. Problem discovery and definition
2. Important problem sources
3. Precautions to problem selection
4. Criteria in selection of a research problem
5. Guideline in writing the title
6. Guideline in statement of the problem
7. Hypotheses
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What is a Research problem?
A research problem is a question that the researcher
wants to answer or solve.
Refers to some difficulty, which a researcher faces
(experiences) in the context of both a theoretical or
practical situation and wants to obtain a solution for the
same.
A research problem is a condition that can be
investigated through the collection and analysis of
data
with theoretical or practical significance.
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What is ...
Cont’d
It is demarcation of a problem area within a
certain context involving the who, what,
where, when and why of the problem situation
It helps to move from different levels of
abstraction and generality.
It is a progressive sharpening of concepts
and a progressive narrowing of scope.
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Examples of research ideas (topic)
derived and their focus research questions
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A research problem exists
There is an individual, a group, organization ‘I’ to whom a
if problem can be attributed. The problem concerns someone.
This someone occupies an environment ‘N’. This
environment or the space is defined by values of the
uncontrolled variables ‘Y’.
There are at least two courses of action, choices, options,
say C1 and C2, that can be pursued.
There must be at least two possible outcomes, say O1 and
O2, of the course of action, of which one should be preferred
to the other. This means that there must be at least one
outcome that the research wants, the one objective that the
researcher prefers.
The courses of action available must provide ‘some’ chance
of obtaining the objective. However they must not provide
the ‘same’ chance otherwise the choice would not matter.
It is important to understand that the individual, organization,
group etc. is said to have a problem only if there is doubt
about the solution.
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Example
:
Problem: Declining of sales
Objectives: Improving sales of the company
Course of actions:
By keeping TC constant and increasing TR
Keep TR constant and decrease TC
Decreasing price,
Increasing quality,
Changing package
Motivating workers
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Components of a Research
Problem
There must:
1) be an individual or a group which has some difficulty or
the problem or to whom the problem can be attributed.
2) be some objective(s) to be attained. If one wants
nothing, one cannot have a problem.
3) be alternative means or courses of action for obtaining
the objective(s) one wishes to attain. This means that
there must be at least two means available to a
researcher for if he has no choice of means, he cannot
have a problem.
4) remain some doubt in the mind of a researcher with
regard to the selection of alternatives. This means that
research must answer the question concerning the
relative efficiency of the possible alternatives.
5) be some environment(s) to which the difficulty pertains.
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Sources of a
Research Problem
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Sources of Research
Problem
Observation in everyday life
Eg. Prof. Aklilu Lemma which resulted in the
investigation of Lemma Toxin for Bilharzia
Deduction from theory
Theoretically income is correlated to the propensity to
save. You might want to test this in a specific social
and economic setting
Literature
Past research findings, journal articles, bulletins
indicate future research areas at the end of the paper
Contemporary social and political issues
Eg. Food price hike, Global economic melt down and
its effects on financial institutions, Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam and its impact,
Terrorism, piracy, etc
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Sources Cont’d
of ...
Practical and discussion with a
experience colleague
Eg. An NGO might want to evaluate its impact in a
certain community
Personal experience and insignt
You might want to solve a that
problem personally experienced you
A project run by your professor/sponsor
Professional meeting
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Precautions in selecting a
[Link]
Avoid a subject that has been overdone as it will be
difficult to throw any new light in such a case.
ii. Controversial subjects should be avoided by an average
researcher.
iii. Subjects whose scope is too narrow or vague should be
avoided.
iv. The subject should be familiar and feasible so that the
related research material or sources of research are
within one’s reach.
v. Know yourself and the limitations of your experience,
your ability and capacity.
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Criteria for Selecting a
Problem
Interest
Most important
Significance
Theoretical value
Practical value
Timeliness
External review
Manageability
Expertise, time, resources
Free from personal bias
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Issues to Consider in selecting a research problem
[Link]’s interest and motivation : a researcher
should select a topic of great interest to sustain the required
motivation.
[Link]: It is extremely important to select a topic that you can
manage within the time and resources at your disposal. Narrow the
topic down to something manageable, specific and clear.
[Link] of concepts : Make sure that you are clear
about the indicators and measurement of concepts used in your
study.
[Link]’s level of expertise : Make sure that you have
adequate level of expertise for the task you are proposing since you
need to do the work yourself. Your advisor gives you only
guidance!
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Issues to Consider…
Cont’d
5. Relevance: Ensure that your study adds to the existing
body of knowledge, bridges current gaps and is useful in
policy formulation.
6. Researchability and feasibility: not all problems are
researchable and not all research topics are feasible
7. Availability of data: Before finalizing the topic, make sure
that data are available.
8. Ethical issues: How ethical issues can affect the study
population and how ethical problems can be overcome
should be thoroughly examined at the problem
formulating stage.
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Feasibility check
Is the problem of current interest? Will the
research results have social, educational or scientific
value?
Will it be possible to apply the results in practice?
Will the research opt new problems and lead to
further research?
Is the research problem important? Will you be proud of
the
Canresult?
you find an answer to the
research? problem through Will you
problem? be able to
Will it be practicallyhandlethe
possible to undertake research the research?
Will it be possible for another researcher to repeat
the
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Cont...
Is the research free of any ethical problems and
limitations?
Do you have the necessary knowledge and skills to do
the research? Are you qualified to undertake the
research?
Is the problem important to you and are you motivated to
undertake the research?
Is the research viable in your situation? Do you have
enough time and energy to complete the project?
Do you have the necessary funds for the research?
Do you have access to the administrative, statistic and
computer facilities the research necessitates?
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Major Steps in formulation of a research problem
1. Identify a broad field or subject area of your interest
E.g. Marketing of products and services
2. Divide the broad areas into sub areas.
E.g. Product, Price, Promotion, Place (these are called the 4ps)
3. Among the divisions select the area
that interests you most
E.g. Promotion
4. Make it a research question and make sure that it is a gap
E.g. What is the effect of TV advertisement on sales volume
of product “X”
5. Formulate objectives.
E.g. To identify the effect of TV advertisement on the sales
volume of product “X” of Company “Y”
6. Assess your objectives.
7. Double check.
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Guideline in writing the title [ G to S]
General Topic HRM and productivity
Research Lack of employee
motivation in a work place
Problem
Purpose Factors affecting employees’
Statement motivation/productivity in the
selected organizations
Does the introduction of
packages in the work incentive place
Specific
Research improving the declining
motivation andemployee
performance? help
Question in
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Cont…
A good research problem is characterized as:
1. Be useful for the concerned people in a particular
field.
2. Be novel. The research topic should be something
new so that one can be sure that it really contributes
to the formation of new knowledge and not just a mere
repetition of what has been already done.
3. Be completed in the allotted time desired.
4. Does not carry ethical or moral impediments
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Problem Distillation
The process of refining the question or idea into
a problem and making it sufficiently specific so
that it is amenable to investigation.
This process should lead to the development of
a “statement of the problem” that is clear,
concise, and definitive
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Statement of the Problem
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Statement of the
Problem
Is a clear, precise, and concise statement of the question or
issue that is to be investigated with the goal of finding an
answer or solution.
Is a statment of the discripancy between what is known
and what needs to be known
It is at the heart of a research dissertation. This is the
place where most faculty members go first to understand
and assess the merits of a proposal or a dissertation.
After reading the problem statement, the reader will know
why you are doing this study and be convinced of its
importance.
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Statement of the Problem
A very specific statement which clearly identifies
the problem being studied;
Will usually identify the key variables as well as
give some information about the scope of the study
May be either in question or declarative form.
May include inherent sub-problems, if appropriate
Formulation of problem statement takes place after an
initial review of related literature and the distillation
process
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Problem Statements
“The problem of this study was to …”
“This study was concerned with …”
“This study is designed to …”
“The purpose of this investigation is to …”
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Sample Problem
Statements
a) This study was designed to determine the relationship
between stability performance and physical growth
characteristics of preschool children.
b) The present study was designed to identify those
characteristics which differentiate between students
who overdo drink and those that do not.
c) The problem of the study was to ascertain if an
increase in working hours will increase the incidence of
drug abuse.
d) The current study is made to evaluate the effect of on
the job training on employee performance.
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Formulating Research
Questions and Research
Objectives
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The importance of the research question
The research question is the starting point of
the study.
It will determine the population to be studied,
the setting for the study, the data to be
collected, and the time period for the study.
A clear and concisely stated research question
is the most important requirement for a
successful study.
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Characteristics of a good research
question
FINER
Feasible
Adequate numbers of subjects?
Adequate technical expertise?
Affordable in time and money?
Is it possible to measure or manipulate the variables?
Interesting
To the investigator?
Novel
To the field?
Ethical
Potential harm to subjects?
Potential breech of subject confidentiality?
Relevant
To scientific knowledge/theory?
To organizational, health or social management and policy?
To individual welfare?
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Formulating Research Objectives
The objectives of the research should be stated in a formal
research statement. The statement of objectives should
be as precise as possible.
Properly formulated specific objectives will facilitate the
development of your research methodology and will help
to orient the collection, analysis, interpretation and
utilization of data.
The objectives of the research must be brief and specific;
also, it is preferable to limit the number of objectives.
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Research Objectives ...
Cont’d.
The main/general objective is an overall statement of the
drive of your study. It is also a statement of the main
associations and relationships that you seek to discover or
establish.
The specific objectives are the specific aspects of the topic that
you want to investigate within the main framework of your
study.
Action verbs should be used in formulating objectives. These
include: words such as:
‘to determine’,
‘to find out’,
‘to ascertain’,
‘to measure’,
‘to explore’ etc.
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Research Objectives... Cont’
The wording of objectives determinesdthe type of
research (descriptive, correlational and
experimental,
exploratory, explanatory,
etc) and the type of research design you need to
adopt to achieve them.
1. Descriptive studies:
-To describe the types of incentives provides by Hotel XYZ to
employees in Addis Ababa.
-To find out the opinion of the employees about the medical
facilities provided by five star hotels in Addis Ababa.
2. Correlational studies:
-To identify correlation of training and employee retention.
3. Causal studies:
-To ascertain if an increase in working hours will increase the
incidence of drug/alcohol abuse.
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Research Questions
Vs
Research Objectives
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Research Objectives Vs …
The main difference between research questions
and research objectives is the way in which they are
written.
Research questions are obviously that—questions.
Research Question Research Objective
Why have organizations To identify organization’s
introduced early retirement ? Objectives for introducing
retirement schemes.
What are the consequences To describe the consequences of
of early retirement schemes ? Early recruitment for employees.
To explore the effects of early
retirement for the organization.
Hypotheses Development
The word hypothesis is a compound of two words,
“hypo” and “thesis”.
Hypo=under or below
thesis = reasoned, theory or viewpoint
Thus, hypothesis would mean a theory, which is
not fully reasoned
A set of suggested tentative solution of a research
problem, which can be or may not be a real
solution
Continued…
Hypothesis indicates the question in testable
form and predict the nature of the answer
Hypothesis is a theory entertained in order to
study the facts and examine the validity of the
theory
Hypothesis is a testable statement that
describes the nature of the proposed
relationship between two or more variables
The purpose of the study is to collect data which
will allow the researcher to test (or refute) the
hypothesis.
Hypothesis
Hypothesis:
When propositions are formulated for empirical
testing.
It is a tentative proposition that will be
verified or falsified through empirical testing.
E.g. Increasing retirement benefit by 5% reduces
employees turn over Less abstract &
measureable
But, not all research has hypothesis
Hypotheses - Types
Two types of hypothesis: Descriptive and
Relational
Hypothesis
Descriptive Hypothesis: propositions that typically state
the existence, size, form or distribution of some variables. It
can also be formulated in research question form.
The current unemployment rate in X region exceeds 6%.
What is the unemployment rate in the region?
Relational Hypothesis: statements that describe (causal)
r/ship b/n two variables.
Increasing frequency of product advertisement increases
sales volume.
An increase in family income leads to higher percentage
of saving
Role of Hypothesis
Formulation of research hypothesis is not arbitrary. It
is rather based on theory or previous research
findings.
Research hypothesis plays the role of guiding the
direction of the study, hence should be carefully
designed.
If done well, it limits what shall be studied and what
shall not be.
It identifies facts that are relevant from those which are
not.
In this way it suggests the appropriate research design
to adopt.
It provides a framework for organizing the conclusion.
Attributes of Good Hypothesis
The hypothesis must be adequate for
the purpose; enough variables
It should also be testable; less abstract
The hypothesis must be better than its rivals
Forms of stating Hypothesis
Positive form (declarative)
Negative form
Null form
Question form
Negative form
-When the researcher negates about the
outcome of the study
Positive form
- when a researcher makes a positive
statement about the outcome of the study
Null form
- When the researcher makes a statement that no
relationship exist
Question form
-A question is asked as to what the outcome will
be instead of stating what out come is expected .
Positive form
1) The academic achievements of extroverts is
significantly higher than that of introverts.
2) Students who learn in small class size will
perform significantly better in Mathematics test
than who learn in large class size.
3) Teaching children through
instruction programmed material will
anxiety decrease their test
Negative
form
1) The academic achievements of extroverts is
not significantly higher than that of introverts.
2) Students who learn in small class size will not
perform significantly better in Mathematics test
than who learn in large class size.
3) Teaching children through programmed
instruction material will not decrease their test
anxiety
Null from
a) There is no significant difference between the
academic achievements of extroverts and
introverts.
b) There is no significant different between
students who learn in small class size and
those learn in large class size in performing in
mathematics test.
c) Teaching children through programmed
instruction material will have no effect on their
test anxiety
Question form
1) Will the academic achievements of extroverts
be higher than that of introverts?
2) Will students who learn in small class size will
perform significantly better in Mathematics test
than who learn in large class size?
3) Will teaching children through programmed
instruction will decrease their test anxiety?
Take following research title as
the
example an identify possible
and sets of
hypothesis.
“Factors that contribute to lower achievement
of Female students than males in national
examination in XYZ region”
End of Chapter Two