RESEARCH PROBLEM

INTRODUCTION Generally speaking a research problem is a

situation that needs a solution and for which there are possible solutions or a question that researcher wants to answer

Identification & formulation of a research problem is the first step of the research process.

Selection of research problem depends on several factors such as researcher’s knowledge, skills, interest, expertise, motivation &creativity with respect to the subject of inquiry.

It is believed that most of the good research studies need lots of time for selection of a research problem.

DEFINITIONS According to Kerlinger, ‘A problem is an

interrogative sentence or statement that asks what relation exists between two or more variable. The answer to question will provide what is having sought in the research.

R.S. Woodworth defines problem as ‘a situation for which we have no ready & successful response by instinct or by previous acquired habit. We must find out what to do’, i.e. the solution can be found out only after an investigation.

In other words, ‘a research problem is an area of concern where there is a gap in the knowledgebase needed for professional practices.

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Stakeholders will potentially benefit from the knowledge derived from this study

Results will be applicable Results will be theoretically relevant Findings will lend support to untested

theoretical assumptions, extend or challenge an existing theory, or clarify a conflict in the literature

Findings will potentially formulate or alter practice or policies

HOW TO WRITE THE STATEMENT PROBLEM

The problem statement implies some question that your research will be answering.

When you set up to write a statement problem you should know that you are looking for something wrong… or something that needs close attention.

Nevertheless objectivity can be injected by answering questions such as these

Is the problem of current interest? Is the problem likely to continue into the

future? Will more information about the problem have

practical application? Will more information about the problem have

theoretical importance? How large is the population affected by the

problem? How important, influential, or popular is this

population?

Would this study substantially revise or extend existing knowledge?

Would this study create or improve an instrument of some utility?

Would research findings lead to some useful change in best practice?

Is there evidence or authoritative opinion from others to support the need for this research?

The problem statement could close with a question

Criteria for Research Problem Statements

The statement of the problem should clearly indicate what is to be investigated.

The actual statement may be in a declarative or in a question form.

The statement should indicate the variables of interest and the specific relationship between the variables that are to be studied.

Identification of a research problem Identification of a research problem is the first

& most important step in research process. Generally, a broad area is selected & then a

broad topic is delimited or narrowed down to a specific one-sentence statement of the problem.

This step of the research process is considered as the most difficult & challenging, & need slots of time.

A research problem may come from several sources

SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Personal experiences

Literature sources

Existing theories

Previous research

Academic experiences

Brain storming

Intuition

Consultations

Social issues

Professional experience

Identifyingthe research problem

Critical first step in research process Directs the entire research process

and decisions you will make Being clear about the problem you

wish to address will assist in focusing your study

Start with a broad area of interest/concern which is gradually refined until you have a research problem

Steps in identifyinga research problem

5. Identify the purpose for your study

4. Identify a research problem

3. Narrow your topic

1. Outline areas of interest

2. Choose a topic

Observe your environment

Be curious

Ask questions

Read about your interests

Talk to your Colleagues

Find out what others are doing

Areas of Interest Start with an area you are familiar with Begin broadly and think of things that

interest you in your practice• What do you find frustrating?

Perplexing? • What do you think works well?

What could be improved? Be creative and try to “think outside the

box” Brainstorm about general areas of

interest Write down all your thoughts and ideas

Choosing your topic

1. Significance/relevance: Is this an important problem for? Is it timely?

2. Gaps: What is already known about the topic? Have others already examined this issue? Is more research needed?

3. Interest: Is this something you would like to explore further?

Choose one area of interestas a topic you will focus on

To help you select a topic consider:

Narrowing your topic Refine your topic by becoming more

specific about what you are interested in

Pose some questions about your topic to help you narrow your focus

Polit & Beck (2008) suggest some question stems to use to assist in refining your topic What is going on with…. What is the meaning of… What influences or causes… What is the process by which…. What factors contribute to…. How effective is…..

Common Errors

Errors in Defining the Research Problem

Problem Definition is too Broad

• Does Not Provide Guidelines for Subsequent Steps

• e.g., Improving the Company’s Image

Problem Definition is too Narrow

• May Miss Some Important Components of the Problem

• e.g. Changing Prices in Response to a Competitor’s Price Change.

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An example : Let us suppose that a research problem in a

broad general way is as follows: “Why is productivity in Japan so much higher

than in India”? It has a number of ambiguities such as

• What sort of productivity is being referred to? • With what industries the same is related? • With what period of time the productivity is being

talked about?• In view of all such ambiguities the given statement

or the question is much too general to be amenable to analysis.

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• Rethinking and discussions about the problem may result in narrowing down the question to:

Example

“What factors were responsible for the higher labour productivity of Japan’s manufacturing industries during the decade 1971 to 1980 relative to India’s manufacturing industries?”

Further rethinking and rephrasing might place the problem on a still better operational basis as shown below:

“To what extent did labour productivity in 1971 to 1980 in Japan exceed that of India in respect of 15 selected manufacturing industries?

What factors were responsible for the productivity differentials between the two countries by industries?”

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Example: With this sort of formulation, the various

terms involved such as ‘labour productivity’, ‘productivity differentials’, etc. must be explained clearly.

The researcher must also see that the necessary data are available.

In case the data for one or more industries selected are not available for the concerning time-period, then the said industry or industries will have to be substituted by other industry or industries.

The suitability of the time-period must also be examined. Thus, all relevant factors must be considered by a researcher before finally defining a research problem

Narrowing your topic:Choosing a researchable question

Narrow down the questions you have posed by eliminating those that are not researchable

According to Brink & Wood (2001) researchable questions are Focused on fact not opinion – answers will

help to describe or explain a phenomenon “Now” questions - deal with current,

significant issues Relevant - Generate useable information Action oriented - usually require you to do

something and provide direction for the rest of the research process.

Identifyingthe research problem

To decide on your research problem consider the potentially researchable questions about your topic you identified earlier

Select one that you would like to explore in more depth

In choosing your focus consider Your interests The literature Feasibility of studying the problem

Identifying the research problem

Significance“Researchability” Nature of the problem Ethical considerations

Feasibility Time Funding for the study Researcher expertise Availability of participants Availability of facility and equipment

(Polit & Beck 2008))

To finalize the research problem consider:

Identifying the study purpose Clear, concise statement of the goal, aim,

focus, or objective of the study (Burns & Grove, 2005)

Should include a description of “what” = variables or phenomena of

interest “who” = sample or participants “where” = setting

PROBLEM STATEMENT A problem statement is the description of an

issue currently existing which needs to be addressed.

It provides the context for the research study and generates the questions which the research aims to answer.

The statement of the problem is the focal point of any research. A good problem statement is just one

"The frequency of job layoffs is creating fear, and a loss of productivity in middle management workers."

The Research Question The foundation of the research process It all begins with a question

Finding a Research Question From where ???????

Curiosity Information Gaps Controversy Replication Literature Review Other People ...???

Types of Research Questions Conceptualize that a research study can ask

three types of questions: Descriptive question Relationship question Comparative question

This general classification scheme helps not only with the design of the study, but also in choosing the type of data analysis procedure

Descriptive QuestionSeeks to describe phenomena or characteristics

of a particular group of subjects being studied Answers the question “what is”

• Asking questions of the research participants• Testing or measuring their performance

Survey researchDescriptive research questions simply aim

to describe the variables you are measuring. When we use the word describe, we mean that these research questions aim to quantify the variables you are interested in.

Descriptive QuestionThink of research questions that start with

words such as "How much?", "How often?", "What percentage?", and "What proportion?", but also sometimes questions starting "What is?" and "What are?".

Often, descriptive research questions focus on only one variable and one group, but they can include multiple variables and groups. We provide some examples below:

Descriptive Question Question: How often do Pakistan

university students use Face book each week?

Variable: Weekly Facebook usage Group:Pakistan university students

Question:What are the most important factors that influence the career choices of Pakistan university students?

Variable: Factors influencing career choices Group:Pakistan university students

Relationship Question Investigates the degree to which two or more

variables are associated with each other

Whilst we refer to this type of quantitative research question as a relationship-based research question, the word relationship should be treated simply as a useful way of describing the fact that these types of quantitative research question are interested in the causal relationships, associations, trends and/or interactions amongst two or more variables on one or more groups.

We have to be careful when using the word relationship because in statistics, it refers to a particular type of research design, namely experimental research designs where it is possible to measure the cause and effect between two or more variables; that is, it is possible to say that variable A (e.g., study time) was responsible for an increase in variable B (e.g., exam scores).

we typically start a relationship-based quantitative research question, "What is the relationship?", usually followed by the words, "between or amongst", then list the independent variables (e.g., gender) and dependent variables (e.g., attitudes towards music piracy), "amongst or between" the group(s) you are focusing on. Examples of relationship-based research questions are:

Question:What is the relationship between gender and attitudes towards music piracy amongst teenagers?

Dependent variable:Attitudes towards music piracy

Independent variable:Gender Group: teenagers

Question:What is the relationship between study time and exam scores amongst university students?

Dependent variable:Exam scores Independent variable:Study time Group:University students

Question:What is the relationship amongst career prospects, salary and benefits, and physical working conditions on job satisfaction between managers and non-managers?

Dependent variable:Job satisfaction Independent variable:1. Career prospects

2. Salary and benefits3. Physical working conditions

Group:1. Managers2. Non-managers

Comparative research questions Comparative research questions aim to

examine the differences between two or more groups on one or more dependent variables (although often just a single dependent variable).

Such questions typically start by asking "What is the difference in?" a particular dependent variable between two or more groups. Examples of comparative research questions include:

Question:What is the difference in the daily calorific intake of American men and women?

Dependent variable:Daily calorific intake Groups:1. American men

2. American women

Question:What are the differences in usage behaviour on Facebook between British male and female university students?

Dependent variable:Usage behaviour on Facebook (e.g. logins, weekly photo uploads, status changes, commenting on other users' photos, app usage, etc.)

Group:1. Male, British university students2. Female, British university students

Difference QuestionSeeks to make comparisons between or within

groups of interest Often associated with experimental research

• Is there a difference between the control group and the experimental group?

Comparison of one group to another on the basis of existing characteristics

Example Does participation in Special Olympics affect the

self-esteem of adults with mental retardation? (Major, 1998)

Criteria for Selecting a Problem

Interest Most important

Significance Theoretical value Practical value Timeliness External review

Manageability Expertise, time, resources Free from personal bias

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

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 in either 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

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 …”

Sample Problem Statements1. The problem was to investigate the effects of

exercise on blood lipids among college-age females.2. This study was designed to determine the

relationship between stability performance and physical growth characteristics of preschool children.

3. The present study was designed to identify those characteristics which differentiate between students who binge drink and those that do not.

4. The problem of the study was to determine is there is a relationship between self-efficacy and self-reported alcohol usage among middle-aged adult females.

Limitations Limitations are very similar to delimitations,

but they tend to focus on potential weaknesses of the study

Examples include sampling problems (representativeness of

subjects) uncontrolled factors and extraneous variables faulty research design and techniques reliability and validity of measuring instruments compromises to internal/external validity

Limitations continued Possible shortcomings of the study . . . usually

cannot be controlled by the researcher the researcher will, of course, try to eliminate

extremely serious weaknesses before the study is commenced

May be a result of assumptions not being met No study is perfect; the researcher recognizes

the weaknesses

Assumptions Assumptions are basic, fundamental conditions

that must exist in order for the research to proceed

Basic premises required in the study... the researcher does everything possible to increase the credibility of the assumptions, but does not have absolute control

Assumptions could be made about (1) the motivation of the subjects, (2) whether subjects responded truthfully, (3) the validity of the measuring instrument, and (4) whether subjects followed directions correctly