Formulating A Research Problem PDF

Lecture 2 Formulating a Research Problem BY Stephen Boateng Dpt. Of Management Studies Contact Information: [email protected]...

Lecture 2 Formulating a Research Problem BY Stephen Boateng Dpt. Of Management Studies Contact Information: [email protected] UNIVERSITY OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY Course Code: 451  The Research Problem The identification and analysing a research problem is the first and most crucial step of research process. Any question that you want answered and any assumption or assertion that you want to challenge or investigate can become a research problem or a research topic for your study. Nevertheless, not all questions can be transformed into research problems and some may prove to be extremely difficult to study. In formulating a research problem requires considerable knowledge of both the subject area and research methodology. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 2  The importance of formulating a research problem Its helps develop forms of research problem, from the very simple to the very complex. That is, the way a problem is formulated The formulation of determines almost every step a problem act as that follows: the type of study the ‘input’ to a design that can be used; the study, and the type of sampling strategy that ‘output’. can be employed; the research instrument that can be used or developed; and the type of analysis that can be undertaken. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 3  Sources of Research Problems You may select a group of individuals (a group of Most research revolves individuals – or a community around four Ps: as such – ‘people’), to examine the existence of People certain issues or problems relating to their lives, to ascertain their attitude Problem towards an issue (‘problem’), to establish the existence of a regularity (‘phenomenon’) or Phenomena to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention (‘programme’). Programme Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 4  Sources of Research Problems Every research study has two aspects: the people who provide you with the ‘study population’, whereas the other three Ps furnish the ‘subject areas’. Aspect of About Study of Study Study People Individuals, groups, They provide you Population Organisations, communities with the required information Problem Issues, situations, associations, need, population compositions, profiles Information that you need to collect Programme Contents, structure, attributes, Subject Area to find answers to outcomes, satisfaction, your service consumers, providers, etc. research questions Phenomen Cause and effects, on relationships, the study of a phenomenon itself, etc. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 5  Considerations In Selecting A Research Problem When selecting a research problem/topic there are a number of considerations to keep in mind which will help to ensure that your study will be manageable and that you remain motivated. These considerations are: 1. Interest – Interest should be the most important consideration in selecting a research problem. A research endeavour is usually time consuming, and involves hard work and possibly unforeseen problems. If you select a topic which does not greatly interest you, it could become extremely difficult to sustain the required motivation and put in enough time and energy to complete it. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 6  Considerations In Selecting A Research Problem 2. Magnitude – You should have sufficient knowledge about the research process to be able to visualise the work involved in completing the proposed study. Narrow the topic down to something manageable, specific and clear. It is extremely important to select a topic that you can manage within the time and with the resources at your disposal. 3. Measurement of Concepts – If you are using a concept in your study (in quantitative studies), make sure you are clear about its indicators and their measurement. Do not use concepts in your research problem that you are not sure how to measure. This does not mean you cannot develop a measurement procedure as the study progresses. While most of the developmental work will be done during your study, it is imperative that you are reasonably clear about the measurement of these concepts at this stage. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 7  Considerations In Selecting A Research Problem 4. Level of Expertise – Make sure you have an adequate level of expertise for the task you are proposing. Allow for the fact that you will learn during the study and may receive help from your research supervisor and others, but remember that you need to do most of the work yourself. 5. Relevance – Select a topic that is of relevance to you as a professional. Ensure that your study adds to the existing body of knowledge, bridges current gaps or is useful in policy formulation. This will help you to sustain interest in the study. 6. Availability of Data – If your topic entails collection of information from secondary sources (office records, client records, census or other already-published reports, etc.) make sure that this data is available and in the format you want before finalising your topic. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 8  Considerations In Selecting A Research Problem 7. Ethical Issues – Another important consideration in formulating a research problem is the ethical issues involved. In the course of conducting a research study, the study population may be adversely affected by some of the questions (directly or indirectly); deprived of an intervention; expected to share sensitive and private information; or expected to be simply experimental. How ethical issues can affect the study population and how ethical problems can be overcome should be thoroughly examined at the problem-formulation stage. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 9  Steps In Formulating A Research Problem The formulation of a research problem is the most crucial part of the research journey as the quality and relevance of your research project entirely depends upon it. The process of formulating a research problem consists of a number of steps. Working through these steps presupposes a reasonable level of knowledge in the broad subject area within which the study is to be undertaken and the research methodology itself. A brief review of the relevant literature helps enormously in broadening this knowledge base. Without such knowledge it is difficult to ‘dissect’ a subject area clearly and adequately. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 10  Steps In Formulating A Research Problem I. Identify a broad field or subject area of interest to you. II.Dissect the broad area into subareas. III.Select what is of most interest to you. Steps: IV.Raise research questions. V.Formulate objectives. VI.Assess your objectives. VII.Double-check. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 11  The Formulation of Research Objectives Objectives are the goals you set out to attain in your study. Objectives inform a reader what a researcher want to achieve through the study, it is extremely important to word them clearly and specifically. Objectives should be listed under two headings: – Main objectives; – Sub-objectives. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 12  The Formulation of Research Objectives Main Objectives 1. This is an overall statement of the thrust of your study. 2. It is also a statement of the main associations and relationships that you seek to discover or establish. Sub-Objectives 1. The sub-objectives are the specific aspects of the topic that you want to investigate within the main framework of your study. 2. Sub-objective should contains only one aspect of the study. The objectives should start with words such as ‘to determine’, ‘to find out’, ‘to ascertain’, ‘to measure’ and ‘to explore’. Objectives should be expressed in such a way that the wording clearly, completely and specifically communicates to your readers your intention. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 13  Establishing Operational Definitions In defining the problem you may use certain words or items that are difficult to measure and/or the understanding of which may vary from respondent to respondent. In a research study it is important to develop, define or establish a set of rules, indicators or yardsticks in order to establish clearly the meaning of such words/items. It is sometimes also important to define clearly the study population from which you need to obtain the required information. When you define concepts that you plan to use either in your research problem and/or in identifying the study population in a measurable form, they are called working definitions or operational definitions. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 14  Practical Session How to formulate a Research Problem Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 15  Steps in formulating a problem 1. Identify a broad field or subject area of interest to you. Salt Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 16  Steps in formulating a problem 2. Dissect the broad area into subareas. Mining of Salt Marketing of Salt Salt Production of Salt Uses of Salt Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 17  Steps in formulating a problem Steps in formulating a problem 3. Select what is of most interest to you and what has not been done in the literature. Mining of Salt Marketing of Salt Salt Production of Salt Production of Salt Uses of Salt Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 18  Steps in formulating a problem 4. Raise research questions. Mining of Salt RQ1: Which salt type is needed by the petroleum industry in Ghana? Marketing of Salt Salt Production of Salt RQ2: What is the quantity Production of Salt of salt produced for the petroleum industry in Uses of Salt Ghana? Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 19  Steps in formulating a problem 5. Formulate objectives. Identify Dissect Select Raise Questions Formulate Objectives RQ1: Which salt Main Objective Mining of Salt type is needed by Producing salt for the the petroleum petroleum industry in industry in Ghana Marketing of Salt Ghana? Salt Production Sub-objectives of Salt RQ2: What is the To ascertain the type Production of Salt quantity of salt of salt needed by produced for the the petroleum petroleum industry in Ghana Uses of Salt industry in Ghana? The identify the quantity of salt produced for the petroleum industry in Ghana. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 20  Steps in formulating a problem 6. Assess your objectives. Access these objectives in accordance with The work involved The available time for the project The financial resources at your disposal You and your research supervisor’s technical ability expert in the area of interest Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 21  Steps in formulating a problem 7. Double-check. (i) That you are really interested in the area of research (ii) That you agree with the objectives (iii)That you have adequate resources (iv)That you have the technical expertise to handle the subject matter Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 22  Steps in formulating a problem First acknowledge what other researchers have done. Then state what has not been done hence the need for your research. Eg. While there has been some research on the general impact of female unemployment (Coyle,2021; Popay, 2020), little has been written about the causes of female unemployment on the finances of a family. Research Gap identified: the causes of female unemployment on finances of a family. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 23  How to formulate a problem The adoption of social media by the government confr onts a series of barriers. Some of these barriers relate t o records management, privacy and security issues, acc uracy, and administration of specific requirements (Bertot et al., 2021; Bryer and Zavararo, 2019; Landsbergen, 2020 and Sherman, 2021). However, in contrast with other studies, to our knowledg e, there is still no guideline for the use of social media in Ghana. The study of perceived risks, benefits, and strategies will be very helpful in the development of those guidelines. Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 24  Gaps may be communicated as 1. Missing issues in literature 2. Limited discussion in literature 3. Conflicts in theoretical approach 4. Missing theoretical model 5. Conflicts/ in empirical methods (data collection a nd context) 6. Mixed previous empirical results 7. Less contextual evaluation or geographic represen tation Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 25  Assignment - To be Submitted via VLE Identify a Research Topic Formulate a research problem Raise Research Questions Formulate the Objectives of the Research Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 Slide 26  NEXT LECTURE [READ AHEAD] LITERATURE REVIEW Research Methods - Stephen Boateng 3/13/2024 27